Triple Cross
by Sybil Rowan
Summary: Cyborg 009, Gatchaman F, and Weiss Kreuz. Ivan, Junpei, and Omi meet each other and become friends. Scar, Count Egobossler, and Reiji Takatori also meet to defeat the teams that keep them from their goals.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Triple Cross

Author: Sybil Rowan

Pairing(s)/Characters: mainly an Ivan, Jinpei, and Omi friendship fic. Various pairings, most het, but some slash.

Rating: T, for implied abuse some language- go figure, a story with Jinpei

Summary: This crossover involves Cyborg 009, Gatchaman F, and Weiss Kreuz. Ivan, Junpei, and Omi meet each other and become friends. Scar, Count Egobossler, and Reiji Takatori also meet to defeat the teams that keep them from their goals.

Warnings: Romances in the background, mostly standard but some surprises. There is some fighting/ action, slightly violent. Few vulgar words. There will be some twisting of canon to make this all fit together, just be flexible when reading.

Author's Notes: Hey, everyone! Long time, no see. The Cyborg 009 movie night gave me the kick in the pants to help inspire me to finish my stories. This piece is placed it in the Gatchaman universe. Cyborg 009 fans who follow my stories may not like what I do with Jet and Ken Washio (Gatchaman), but to confess, that's how this whole story really started. Then I added Weiss and pivoted to the younger members of the teams. It's not my best, but it's been rolling around in my head, and I just had to get rid of it. This is more for giggles than serious piece of writing for me. I do have some spin off ideas, but I have other priorities like Young Offenders! The one problem I had writing this: two Kens and two Joes; it was something I really had to think about. I worked around it pretty well, not elegantly.

Disclaimer: Cyborg 009 written by Shataro Ishinomori. Gatchaman and everything related with it belongs to Tatsunoko. Weiss Kreuz, its names and characters belong to Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiss, Marine Entertainment and Animate Film.

Beta Reader: Now, my husband, WingedPanther73. He found some things he would change around, but it got his stamp of approval.

Date Written: September 22, 2008 to October 17, 2008/

new and final version February 26, 2012, 6:38 am

Part One:

"We've thought it over. It is for the best, 001. Please try to understand," Dr. Isaac Gilmore said. The Russian boy's face was nothing but a scowl. He was already dressed in the crisp white shirt, black slacks, and black tie Dr. Gilmore had bought him yesterday on a shopping excursion.

_ :You are sending me to high school so I'll learn, but I already know everything I need to know. I'm sixty years old, not sixteen. What are you hoping to archive by this exercise in futility, Doctor?:_ Ivan thought telepathically to everyone at the table. He picked up an egg roll with his telekinesis, rather than his hand. Frances Arnoul grabbed the egg roll floating in midair and waved a finger at Ivan's nose.

"No, Ivan. Please don't use your abilities reflexively. Just use your new body. I know it's hard. Only last month I was carrying you around in a baby's body, but you just couldn't stay like that forever. It's time you learned how the rest of humanity works. We want you to learn to interact and be a teenager," Frances said. "Later on, you can have a smoother transition as an adult. We all agreed."

_:I'm not sure about this any more.: _Ivan's mental voice was wry. _:I was content with myself, but I know this change was necessary.:_

Gilmore added in his and Ivan's native Russian, "And you need to talk with your voice, now that you have one. I know you have that stuttering problem, but the more you talk, the more it'll fade away."

"Aww... you guys are all full of baloney," Jet Link interrupted in English, helping himself to more coffee. He leaned over Albert and fixed Ivan with a look Dr. Gilmore knew was trouble. Albert gently elbowed Jet back into his seat and then unfurled his newspaper, _Deutsche Welle_, while shooting his lover an irritated look. Jet just ignored Albert's irritation and pushed on with his opposing opinion, as was typical.

"School is a waste. I dropped out because all they do is spout off useless junk you'll never need to know. I don't think they should subject you to that type of torture. I was on your side, kid, but I got out-voted." Jet's thumb jerked towards Albert, who grabbed it and twisted. That elicited a mock yelp of pain from the redheaded New Yorker.

"Come now, 001! I fixed your favorite breakfast. Egg rolls with lots of chicken is better than milk all the time," Chang said, sitting at the head of the table. He lit the end of his long, clay pipe with a tiny puff of fire from his mouth. "Besides, school is good for you. You'll make friends!"

"Yes! And meet lots of cute girls," Great Britain said before shoving an egg roll in his mouth. "Think of all the nice young ladies you'll get to know. I wish I was your age... oh... scratch that. I wish I really was sixteen again. Why couldn't the Black Ghost have kidnapped me at twenty-five, rather than forty-five. Some of you are lucky," he lamented, flinging his hand dramatically towards Jet, Frances, and Joe in turn.

"Oh you're just a jackass," Jet snapped. "Who wanted this kind of life anyway!"

"Hey, if you have to be kidnapped and forced to become a cyborg against your will, you may as well have perpetual youth as a trade off," G.B. said with a sly smile, unperturbed by Jet's loud outbursts of rage any longer.

"Come on, guys, that's enough already," Joe Shimamura pleaded, setting aside his chopsticks. "It's time you were off to school, Ivan."

"You never... never... you..." Ivan Whiskey stuttered, turned bright red, and clamped his mouth shut. Gilmore flinched back at the bitter, pain-filled expression on Ivan's face. The boy was the closest thing he had to a son, and if Ivan hurt, Gilmore found himself hurting for him.

"No, I didn't finish school, but I wish I had. There are some things you can learn in school we're afraid you aren't learning from us. Things like empathy towards normal people, and how to just accept emotions. Just give it an honest try for a semester. If it doesn't work out, we won't force you to go," Joe said reasonably.

_:What about you two, 005, 008? Do you agree with 009's assessment? Am I not learning to have feelings?:_ Ivan thought, glancing at the last two cyborgs at the end of the table. Junior and Pyunma both nodded their support for Joe. _:I guess it's almost unanimous.: _Ivan stood, his face a hard mask, now. _:How ironic. I helped all of you escape from the Black Ghost because I felt compassion for all of you. I encouraged us to fight against the Black Ghost to save humanity. Now, all of you are saying I'm losing my perspective. I'll trust you, because it only seems fair I return your trust, but don't count on this changing me. The experience of being a teenager wasn't necessary for my mental development. Trying to add the experience is... late, at best.:_

"I know, but I just felt uncomfortable giving you an adult body without some transition. It's just necessary," Gilmore insisted.

"Hey. I'll give him a ride to school, since I disagreed," Jet offered, grabbing his black leather jacket off the back off his chair. Gilmore, for once, was grateful for Jet's brash manners interrupting an awkward moment.

"But I want to take him," Frances said in a half pout, half teary way that choked up Dr. Gilmore. She was going through a lot with Ivan's sudden change. She seemed emotional most of the time.

"I have the coolest car," Jet pointed out. "He already looks like bully fodder!"

"Don't encourage him to cut school. I'll be checking to make sure he's in school. If he doesn't show, I'll blame you," Albert warned, looking over his German newspaper with his icy, blue stare. Jet shook his head at his lover in mock aggravation.

"You never let me have any fun." Jet grabbed Ivan by the wrist and dragged him out the door.

* * *

><p>"You know this wouldn't have happened if you would of showed some restraint. How many times have I told you about restraint?" Jun asked. She furiously swept the floor of the Snack J, while Jinpei slouched on a barstool over a half eaten apple. His new school uniform looked sloppy; the black tie hung at an angle, and the sleeves were rolled up to the elbow.<p>

"It wasn't my fault! The baseball team was picking on me. I had to teach them a lesson!" Jinpei shouted.

"The whole school's baseball team? Half in the hospital? Do you know what kind of strings Dr. Nambu had to pull to not have you arrested and taken to a juvenile detention center? It's high time you stopped acting like a spoiled child and acted like a mature sixteen-year-old," she said, waving a finger at his pug nose.

"What? I thought sixteen-year-olds weren't supposed to be mature yet," Jinpei smarted off, shooting Jun a dirty look before she started counting her till.

"Well, I started this club when I was sixteen. Why can't you find a goal, too? You used to be more focused."

The front door bell rang. The rest of the Science Ninja Team came in and sat at the bar with Jinpei, Ken next to him. It was still too early for customers, so the five of them were more at ease with being in each others' presence.

"Well, I don't need to tell you how disappointed Dr. Nambu is in your behavior," Ken started off. Their leader sat up straight, with crossed arms, and took a breath. He was about to launch into another lecture when Condor Joe, looking a little too hungover to Jinpei, took off his sunglasses and gave Ken an icy glower.

"If I hear the words 'juvenile delinquent' cross your lips again, I will shoot you dead," Joe threatened, groping for the coffee pot. Jun slipped behind the bar and handed Joe a large bottle of aspirin, concern crossing her face.

"I thought, since you... came back, you had sworn off booze and didn't have any more headaches. Didn't Dr. Pandora removed your tumor?" Ryu asked, looking just as worried as Jun.

"I haven't swore off of booze, but this headache came on when Ken drove me insane last night with his we-must-take-a-firm-authoritative-approach with the runt," Joe said, jerking his thumb at Jinpei. He wasn't such a runt anymore. Jinpei was now close to six foot tall and had the thin, athletic build of a swimmer.

Jinpei put his thumb in between his first fingers of his right hand and directed it at Joe. Jun, Ken, and Ryu gasped at the obscene hand gesture, but Joe's eyes narrowed. Joe jumped off his barstool and grabbed Jinpei up by the collar.

"Just for that, I'll make sure you get to your new school, personally," Joe said. He snatched his sunglasses off the bar and dragged Jinpei out of the Snack J with a struggle.

* * *

><p>"A new city and a new flower shop. The painters just finished our new 'The House of Kittens Florists' logo. I'll be off to school now," Omi Tsukiyono called out with a bright smile on his face.<p>

He was dressed in his new, and freshly pressed, school uniform. He sipped his hot, green tea while surveying the fresh coat of paint. His fellow Weiss Kreuz assassins stopped unpacking their new florists' supplies and gave him a look as if he had sprouted horns.

"In my day I was dying to get out of school, not in it," Youji Kudou teased and smirked. He started separating yellow roses from white roses. "Except for the girls, school was a drag."

"But I like school. It can give you a sense of direction and accomplishment," Omi said, hoisting up his backpack.

Ken made a gagging sound and fell on the floor in a poor imitation of death throes. His water can flew through the air, barely missing Aya. The icy, redheaded assassin picked up the half-full can and dumped the rest of the contents on the former soccer star.

"That wasn't funny," Ken shouted, as Youji and Omi laughed out loud. Aya went back to sweeping the floor, with an annoyed shake of his flaming red hair.

"You got your crayons and paste, kid?" Youji teased and ruffled Omi's hair.

"Cut it out," Omi snapped, as a blush crept over his face. Ken tugged the backpack and gave it a jiggle.

"He's out of crayons, but he has enough paste to eat when he gets bored," Ken replied. "Come on, I'll give you a ride to school," he offered.

"Okay, but don't forget the Yokohama's wedding is tomorrow! We have to get down to the hotel lobby tonight and get the roses on that arch. We'll do that when I get back from school. Also, Manx said she wanted to meet with us tonight about this transfer," Omi said, as Ken grabbed his elbow. He tugged the youngest Weiss Kreuz assassin out of the new House of Kittens Florists shop.

* * *

><p>"Great! Look at this traffic!" Jet sneered as he leaned over his steering wheel.<p>

:_I could push all the cars out of the way, if you wish,:_ Ivan offered.

"Nothing doing! Albert will kill me if we get caught and have to move again because the Black Ghost found us out by you showing off. Don't get us tipped off," Jet said, gunning his green Mustang into a narrow opening. His bumper connected hard with a midnight blue Cobra, just as a white florist's van plowed into the back of them.

_:Now I bet you wish I would have used my powers,:_ Ivan thought into Jet's mind as the New Yorker cyborg slapped his steering wheel and swore a blue streak.

Jet gave the child cyborg a dirty look and dragged Ivan out of the car. Jet pushed Ivan towards the school and shooed him off.

The others involved in the accident didn't look too happy, either. The owner of the midnight blue Cobra was an olive-skinned, ruddy-haired man with sunglasses and gritted teeth. His passenger, a kid Ivan's apparent age, was howling in laughter and doing a victory dance.

"Vengeance is mine saith the mighty, mighty Falcon," the brown-haired, Japanese kid shouted as he grabbed his backpack and made a run for it. The man lunged and missed the kid's neck by an inch.

"Oh my, Ken! I'm so sorry! I didn't want anything terrible like this to happen," the blond boy from the florist's van said, looking positively distressed.

"Don't worry, Omi. It was Red's fault," the van diver, a young guy in a green soccer shirt, said. "Get to school and don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Hey! It's not my fault," Jet shouted in outraged English. He understood and could speak Japanese very well because of of the translator in his brain; he just felt like irritating the van driver. He took a cigarette out of his black leather jacket and marched up to the young man with the florist's van.

What did Jet care if this guy wanted to start a fight? He didn't need to fly or use his limited acceleration device to beat the pulp out of a Japanese flower pusher. Or so he thought, until he looked into those dangerous, aqua eyes.

"It was your fault," the olive-skinned man said, walking over with a cigarette now hanging out of his mouth, as well. This man had icy eyes that just didn't seem natural to Jet. Somehow, they reminded him of Albert's eyes, as if they'd witnessed five lifetimes of tragedy.

Jet took a deep breath and tried to quell his anger. After all, he was to keep under the radar, so the new hideout wouldn't be exposed. He didn't want to imagine what Albert would do to him if it was his fault they were discovered.

"You look like you should be going here," the young man in the green soccer shirt said with a smirk as he leaned on Jet's Mustang.

"Hey! I've been done with school a long time ago, ass," Jet snapped.

"Listen, soccer mom, you don't look old enough to shave either," the olive-skinned man said with a smooth Italian accent. Jet picked it up easily enough, remembering his immigrant grandparents. He felt a surge of anger and frustration from his childhood rise up; an instant hatred of the man blazed for no other reason than the accent dredged up so much pain he refused to let die.

"What did you call me?" the young man in the soccer shirt screamed, waving his fist in the air towards the Sicilian. Jet leaned back on his car and snickered, glad he wasn't the only one who disliked Sicilians.

"Let's see all of your identifications and registrations," a policeman said, walking up to them with four other policemen in tow. Jet felt a collective tension run through the group as they all slowly produced their wallets. They all handed over their identifications and waited.

"I think the three of you need to come downtown while we sort this out."

* * *

><p><em>:Is this what nervous feels like?:<em> Ivan asked himself as he filled out a form on a clipboard. He stood between the other two boys from the car accident. His stomach felt tight, and his heart raced horribly. He could always identify other people's emotions, but it was strange to feel them bubble up in his own, new body. He stretched his mind over to the other boys' minds.

The boy named Jinpei Nambu was angry, bored, and nervous. Ivan knew this boy didn't want to show his fear, but there was some deep down inside. The other boy, named Omi Tsukiyono, was excited, no, it was more like nervous. It surprised Ivan to find the same nugget of fear underneath an optimistic outlook. Ivan couldn't make sense of all the swirling, conflicting emotions inside the other boys; he delved deeper and was surprised each of these boys had secrets not unlike his own.

He quickly withdrew from their minds and stared down at the paperwork. Jinpei, as near as Ivan could figure, had a bracelet on his wrist that controlled sophisticated equipment and bird-like armor. Omi was an assassin, plain and simple. Both, Ivan could tell, were highly skilled computer hackers.

Ivan shook off his musing over the other two boys and finished filling out the enrollment form. He put down the half-Japanese cyborg, Joe Shimamura, as his guardian, because he wouldn't fawn over him like Frances. Besides, Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Kozumi were getting too old to chase after a teenager.

"Good! We are happy to have you, Ivan," the lady shouted and over enunciated her words. He was listed as a Russian student on the Japanese island of Utoland.

"I can.. hear just... just fine. I am... I am... foreign, not... deaf," Ivan said, loathing to speak. He observed Jinpei's suspicious look, while Omi gave him a pitying look. Frustration swirled, unbidden, along with shame.

"Of course you can," she said in a patronizing way. He could sense Omi getting angry on his behalf. He was surprised, and rather pleased, to have an affirmation that justice still lay in the human heart. He sometimes wondered if it still existed, with all the ugliness he had seen from the scientists and backers of the Black Ghost. Even his own father had no conscience.

"He's pretty smart, you know," Jinpei said, pointing to Ivan's clipboard. It listed his fake IQ of 142. Of course, it was much higher. The blond boy whistled and gave a chuckle.

"Looks like I'll have competition," Omi said with a bright smile.

"I'll ignore your smart remark, Nambu. By the way, you are on probation. You'll want to keep your nose clean," she snapped. The Nambu boy blushed horribly, but had a harsh glare.

"I think you should show us to class," Omi said, getting a firm expression; Ivan could feel the assassin was also angry on Jinpei's behalf.

They followed the woman down the hallway to a classroom that was light and airy. The other students looked over to the three interlopers. The teacher, a small Japanese woman of thirty, waved them in. Ivan felt his artificial blood pounding in his throat as he fought the temptation to look into all of the minds of his nineteen new classmates.

"This is a rarity! We have three new students at once. This is Jinpei Nambu, Ivan Whiskey, and Omi Tsukiyono. How wonderful. We're working on integrals, so you boys will want to get out your calculus books. Why don't the three of you sit together and help each other out?" she suggested, pointing to a corner in the back of the room with three empty desk.

Ivan sat down with the boys on either side of him. They were opposites. Omi was deeply entrenched in his book as he took notes and listened. Jinpei slouched back and twiddled his thumbs behind his calculus book. He could tell both were keeping up and surpassing the teacher's lecture. Ivan flipped the pages of his Edwards and Penny book as he accessed the part of his brain that did math computations.

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two:

Ivan stood up; it was lunch time. The teacher, and most of the other students, had left the room, already. Ivan watched Jinpei cram his book on top of a mass of crumpled papers. Then he saw Omi finish his notes and neatly tuck them into a color coded folder.

He didn't bother with notes, but he knew he had made a mistake by the odd glances he received from the other students on their way out. Three other boys walked over, one of them spat out a word Ivan didn't quite understand, but Ivan realized he was being addressed in a hostile manner. Omi and Jinpei shot the other boys dirty looks. The three unfamiliar boys baffled Ivan, because they wanted to cause pain. It reminded him of his father on several levels.

"Leave... me alone," Ivan said in awkward Japanese, feeling artificial blood rush to his face. Again, he possessed power to make this teenager respect him, but he wasn't allowed to use it; the risk of the Black Ghost finding them was too great. The unfamiliar boys started laughing and mocking him. Again, anger and frustration flamed hot in Ivan's chest; how he wanted to make them stop, inflict pain back.

One of the unfamiliar boys, again, spat out the word Ivan didn't know, but he saw Jinpei bristle up. Ivan picked up Jinpei's hostile thought, _:Bigots! Pieces of shits! You're the 'barbarian', treating him so rude.:_

He felt both Omi and Jinpei get defensive. He could sense them both shift their weight and tense their muscles, ready to fight after they stood.

"Go hump yourself, jerk," Jinpei scoffed back.

"My name is Aki, and I'll give you two newbies some smart advice. Don't hang around foreigners," the same one who spat out the first insult said. Aki then gave Jinpei a sardonic glance and said, "Unless you want to spend your time getting your ass kicked."

Jinpei raised his arm, lighting quick, but it was caught by Omi before it smashed into Aki's face. Ivan could tell Omi had the same cat-like reflexes, which made Jinpei start.

"It's not polite to threaten people," Omi said, glaring at Aki. Omi turned to Jinpei and shook his head, "Don't fight. You'll just get detention."

"Oh! I see; he's your boyfriend, and the little foreign bastard watches," Aki taunted back. The other two howled in laughter, grabbed their crotches, and made kissing noises at Omi. The blond assassin smiled at Jinpei, but Ivan could see the malice behind it.

"Please, allow me," Omi said. Jinpei took a few steps back and yanked Ivan with him. Omi launched himself at the three larger boys.

"Wow," Jinpei said, watching Omi make quick work of their new schoolmates. The bullies scrambled away from the slight looking teenager. The three new students were now alone in the classroom. "That was really excellent. That didn't look like any fighting style I know."

"Well... I just do a lot of judo. That's all," Omi stammered, with a bright blush. He picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

"That... that... and Weiss Kreuz assassin training... helps," Ivan said, no need to lie.

Omi froze with wide, blue eyes. Jinpei turned and got defensive towards Omi.

"What? Who are you?" Jinpei asked, lifting his fists and slowly advancing on Omi.

"You... have ... have same type of training... Gatchaman... fighting... to save people... from alien... domination," Ivan said. Both boys turned to Ivan with incredulous expressions.

"How do you know about me?" Omi asked.

"Yeah! How do you know?" Jinpei echoed.

_:Because I'm not normal either. It seems we have a lot in common. Maybe we should go eat and talk about it, but can I drop the pretense of talking? It makes me uncomfortable.:_ Ivan thought into Omi and Jinpei's minds. The boys glanced over at each other and let their shock melt away.

"Sure. Are you telepathic or something?" Jinpei asked. Ivan levitated his backpack and grabbed it before heading to the doorway.

_:I have a lot of talents, but I have some horrible limitations, too. You see, I'm a cyborg with psychic abilities. It's better, for my sake, to have two sharp allies. That's why I'm being honest with you. Both of you spend your time fighting against the same type of people I'm struggling to stop.:_

"Now this is cool! I meet a cyborg and an assassin on my first day. Finally! I feel like I'm the normal one," Jinpei said with a wild gleam coming to his brandy-colored eyes.

"What? What do you mean?" Omi asked. Jinpei glanced around slyly and then got a crafty smile.

"I can't tell you everything, but meeting you two... it sure beats the heck of crazy goons trying to engineer world disasters."

"You two beat me. I don't have anything special about me," Omi said.

_:Yes, but you do manage three other assassins, and hack computers, and act as a go between for the police. Not to mention you run a profitable floral shop.:_ Ivan pointed out as they walked out into the hallway.

"That's cool. I want to boss around three assassins and hack for them! That's just wicked cool! Too bad I'm the low man in my group. I have to listen to Ken I-can't-pay-my-bar-tab Washio," Jinpei griped.

"Wow. I have a Ken on my team, too. It's a small world," Omi said brightly. "I'm more of a 'behind the scenes' guy. I work from a distance, you could say. Tell me more about yourselves."

"When will Youji get here?" Ken Hidaka wailed to the ceiling, as he leaned back. He gripped the bars and swung slightly as he reiterated his question. He looked over to Jet, who leaned against the bars with his long, pointed nose poking outside. Joe Asakura, on the other hand, sat calmly on a metal bunk.

"Would you shut up, for the last stinking time," Jet growled. "I can't wait to get bailed out of here!"

"If you wouldn't have crashed our cars, things would have been fine," Ken said, swinging from left to right as his white knuckled fists clung to the bars.

"You want to say that again, soccer mom?" Jet asked with a wide toothy smile. Ken jumped away from the bars and narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah!" Ken said, gritting his teeth. A large shadow engulfed the pair.

"If you don't quit, I'll beat the shit out of both of you," he threatened, shooting each of them a look of pure anger. Ken and Jet went back to their holding cell bars, periodically shooting each other dirty looks.

* * *

><p>"Is there a Heinrich, Washio, and Kudou in the waiting room?" a female police officer asked. Ken glanced at the other two men who had been waiting with him in silence.<p>

"My name is Youji Kudou, officer. I'm sorry if my coworker caused any problems, but I do have to say, I'm glad it gave me a chance to meet you," the blond man said, flashing a charming smile at the woman. She blushed horribly as she lead the way to the holding cell.

Washio grimaced at Kudou's lame pick up line and rolled his eyes. He glanced over at the other man, Heinrich. The man with a German name wore dark glasses, a fedora, and thick gloves. Eagle Ken could clearly see anger in the man's hasty walk and clenched lips. He shook off the thought and got back to being angry with Condor Joe. He had to bail out Joe with the money he owed Jun for his bar tab. Now, Jun was certainly going to make him work the door for the Snack J all weekend long.

"Youji! What took you so long?" asked a young man in a green soccer shirt. He was bouncing up and down in excitement. "Sorry about the van."

"No problem. Aya picked it up and is going to get it fixed. Is Omi okay?" Youji asked, walking over to the cell.

"Fine, no thanks to him," the soccer guy said, jerking his thumb towards a redhead with a scowl.

Ken Washio couldn't yank his eyes off the bright scarlet hair for a long moment, then his eyes traveled downward towards the lanky body. He shook off the distraction with aggravation; this young man was tough to ignore. Ken was still stinging from being turned down by a Saudi Prince, Fizel, his team had rescued from Egobossler's influence. Ken chalked up his wandering eye to wounded pride and adopted a cool, authoritative stance.

"Albert! It wasn't my fault!" the redhead shouted in English, which Ken picked up with his rusty language skills. The German man shook his head.

"You know better than to make a spectacle of yourself, Jet!" the man said in English, with a thick German accent; it was harder for Ken to make out. Ken tried to eavesdrop on the two as they descended into a fierce, low-toned argument. He could pick out the two used a mix of German and English; it caused Ken further curiosity about the redhead in the cell.

"Ken, can you bail me out now? I've had enough," Joe asked, startling him back to the task at hand.

"I wouldn't bail you out for all the tea in China!" the soccer guy shouted at Joe.

"Not you. Him," Joe said and, pointed to the Eagle Leader.

"Sorry. Guess Ken is a popular name." The soccer guy gave a half-hearted rub to the back of his head. "Speaking of which, Youji, can I get out of here?"

"Yeah. I posted your bail. You owe me, big time," the blond flirt said with a smirk as he eyed the female police officer.

"All of you are free to go. Just don't cause trouble in front of the high school again," she warned, unlocking the cell door. The younger soccer fan named Ken bounded out of the cell and stood by his coworker, the flirt.

"You know, you're still being a jerk about the accident," Ken said, glaring at Jet. "I wouldn't have ran into your car, if you were watching what you were doing."

"Go suck a soccer ball, flower boy," Jet shouted and ran towards the florist. In a flash, Albert grabbed Jet around the waist and started dragging him towards the door. Youji planted himself in between the hostile pair, while struggling to move his coworker out of the room, too.

"I think you've had enough excitement today," Youji said, trying to avoid fists.

"You too," Albert said, jerking Jet along behind him. The four left, leaving Eagle Ken with his second. Ken turned to Joe and opened his mouth.

"Uh, uh! Not a word, Washio," Joe said, waving a finger in the air. Ken sighed and followed Joe out of the holding area.

* * *

><p>"Decisions, decisions," Youji said, smiling as he leaned on the shop's van. Parked in front of the florist's van was a pretty, blond girl in a red Porsche. Parked behind the van was a pretty, brunette girl on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Youji hadn't felt this torn in a long time.<p>

Both had wonderful athletic figures and fantastic taste in transportation. He flipped a mental coin just as the bell rang and a flood of teenagers rushed towards them. He quickly spotted Omi's blond hair; he was walking with two other teenage boys.

"Youji! Hey! I hoped you'd pick me up," Omi said as the other two boys tagged along.

"Oh no! Aren't these the other two from the car accident this morning?" Youji asked Omi. The young assassin nodded enthusiastically. To Youji's delight, both women walked over to the group.

"Youji Kudou. These are my new friends, Jinpei Nambu and Ivan Whiskey," Omi introduced.

"You made friends," the blond woman squealed in French and flung herself at the boy named Ivan. "I'm so happy!"

"Please, Frances," Ivan said, peeling away from her embrace.

"I like your new friends, Omi," Youji said, eying the women who seemed related to the boys.

"Well, I hope you're turning a new leaf," the brunette girl said, crossing her arms and adopting a skeptical look at Jinpei.

"Let me assure you, Omi is the most upstanding student you'll ever see. Squeaky clean," Youji said, flashing her a smile while ruffling Omi's hair.

"Hey, guys! Why don't you come over, and we'll get the homework over, play some video games, and eat some pizza?" Jinpei asked.

"Oh no! You have to bartend tonight. I've got an appointment," the brunette girl said.

"Jun," Jinpei whined and gave her a sour look.

"I've got a wedding we're working on anyway," Omi said, looking disappointed. "But we could get together for a little while tomorrow."

"Cool," Jinpei said. "Do you have a job, Ivan?"

"No. It wouldn't be... practical," he answered, looking at Omi and Jinpei.

"Big Sis can always use an extra hand on weekends," Jinpei offered.

"I can always use another delivery guy around the holidays. This will be perfect," Omi said.

"Wait a minute!" the women and Youji all shouted at once.

"Come on, Jinpei. Time to go," Jun said, walking back over to her motorcycle. Jinpei got on behind her and waved goodbye as they took off.

"Yes, Ivan. We've got to get home. We'll talk about this job idea with the others," Frances said, leading Ivan towards the Porsche. Youji watched them leave and turned to Omi.

"Okay, you've got to get us invited over to their house," Youji said.

"Which one? Jinpei or Ivan's?" Omi asked, hopping up in the van.

"Either one will suit me just fine," Youji said, hopping into the drivers seat.

* * *

><p>"I guess you wondered why I've invited you to my base," the man in a black, skeletal mask asked the two men seated at the long, mahogany table. The room was dim and empty of any other presence.<p>

"We didn't come here for the sights, Scar," Reiji Takatori said. "You had an interesting proposition. It seems your science fair projects got away from you, and you'd like some help tracking them down. Isn't that it? Haven't nine of them been running loose for a few years now?"

"My understanding was that Scar and the Black Ghost organization was offering help in eliminating the obstacle to Sosai Z's domination. The blasted Science Ninja Team, not some rickety, old cyborgs, is where our concerns lay," Count Egobossler said, crossing his arms after casting a sardonic look at Takatori.

"I have problems of my own. It seems Kritiker is planning to follow me into my newly acquired territory in Utoland City," Takatori said.

"That's why I'm proposing an alliance between our organizations. I believe we can help each other, since our problems have all seemed to converge in one city," Scar said, leaning back in his high-back chair.

"Sosai Z will not accept anything less than total world control," Count Egobossler said, an intense, passionate expression crossing his handsome face.

"If he wishes to administrate the world on an overlord level, who am I to argue? That is not the goal of the Black Ghost organization. And as far as the Takatori Family, there is need for the wealth and low level control of the streets. The Black Ghost organization has lost some of this in its focus on technology development. I believe our enemies, and my property, can be controlled if we work together," Scar said.

"You have a point," Takatori said finally. "These assassins are very good... and very elusive."

"I'd like you to consider fetching my property, the Double Zero Cyborgs, for me, Mr. Takatori. In return, I'd like Count Egobossler to hunt down your dirty, gutter sniping assassins," Scar said.

"And what does Sosai Z get in return for catching a bunch of assassins from the Kritiker organization?" Count Egobossler asked, flashing a sly smile.

"I will personally handle your Science Ninja Team problem. If each of you brought the dossiers I've asked for, we can exchange information and plan an organized strike in a month or so," Scar said. "Gentlemen, what is your answer?" There was marked silence for three, long minutes.

"I'm in, Scar," Takatori said. He turned to the Count and said, "Good luck with those Kritiker pest."

"Don't worry. I'd be pleased to handle your problem for you, Mr Takatori," Count Egobossler said. "I have a person in mind for this job. Of course, I'll need to gain his release from prison."

"Give me his name, and my men, Schwarz, will get him out."

"Donald Wade. I've got his information too."

"We meet again on Wednesday with our proposals. Time and speed is of the essence. Here are the dossiers on my property, Mr Takatori," Scar said, handing over nine manila folders.

"Don't worry. Schwarz will catch them," Takatori said with a smile as he flipped through the folders. "I have a feeling none of these enemies, or property as you call them, will know what hit them."

To be continued.


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three:

"I tell you, I don't like it, Joe," Frances said, brushing her golden hair out. She looked in her vanity's mirror at her boyfriend, already settled in their bed. The cyborgs' new safe house was a posh townhouse in downtown Utoland City. It was courtesy of Dr. Kozumi's work with the Utoland City University.

It had given Gilmore a chance to catch up with his intimate friend, while the cyborgs caught their breath. She continued when Joe was silent, "A job is too much for him to handle. And come to think of it, I'm not so sure I like those Japanese boys. There was something strange about them."

"What's wrong with Japanese boys?" Joe teased, bring a blush to Frances' face.

"You know what I mean," she said, getting irritated.

"We just don't agree with you, darling. He's made some friends, and that's better than we expected. Besides, we knew when he would make friends they'd be strange, because he's a strange boy. You were happy about it this afternoon," Joe pointed out, setting aside his copy of Murikami's '_After the Quake_.'

"Yes, but it was sudden. A job is something adults do. We're trying to give him a chance at being a normal child," Frances said in clipped French. She set aside her brush and started rubbing lotion on her arms as she gave her half-Japanese lover a pout.

She didn't need lotion; she enjoyed the luxury. All the cyborgs, except for Ivan, indulged in old habits to help hang on to some sensation of life. Jogging, drinking, cooking, sex, sports, theater, nature hiking, smoking, swimming, dancing, and reading were some of the things used among the cyborgs to feel alive. Joe shook his head and sighed.

"That wasn't the point of advancing Ivan's apparent age. It was so he could learn to be independent and grow as a person, rather than stay as a machine. He was getting more and more detached from humanity. A job, where he'll interact with a variety of people, will help him tremendously," Joe rebutted gently. Frances walked over to their bed and got in on the left side.

"I still don't like it. We're still being pursued," Frances said.

"Ivan knows to keep our secrets. He would never tell some strange boys what he is or what we really are. You need to trust his common sense."

"It's just that... he's been like my child, and it's harder to let go than I thought," Frances said, with a quaver in her voice.

"What's really bothering you, darling?"

"It's about children. It's the fact that we can never have them," Frances admitted, reminding Joe that they were both sterilized when they were changed into cyborgs.

"The Black Ghost took that away from us. It was cruel, but we both know we have to move past that," Joe said gently, pulling her to him and holding her. She didn't sob. She was long past tears, but she still needed to be held.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Jinpei! A beer!" Ryu shouted from the end of the bar in the Snack J. Jinpei scowled and grabbed up a frosted mug.<p>

"I thought you had to help your brother at the docks," Jinpei said, as the amber liquid foamed from the tap. He brought the beer over to Ryu, who threw some yen on the bar. Now he smelled the tell-tale signs of the docks.

"Got done early. So, I heard you actually didn't get kicked out of school," Ryu teased, grabbing Jinpei's cheek and pinching it. Ryu laughed at Jinpei's glare. "Glad to see you're back to your regular, nice guy, friendly self. I'm glad to see it was just a phase."

"I just want to have a chance to be normal!" Jinpei shouted. He glanced around nervously and then frowned. "I've been working for the doctor for six years, and I'm just tired."

"You've always been so... enthusiastic? What's changed, Jin?" Ryu asked softly, glancing around.

"I feel like you all give me mixed messages. You all expect me to act like an adult. Since I was ten years old! But I'm not an adult! I'm a teenager, and I just want to see what it's like to be sixteen," Jinpei said.

"Sorry. You're right. You should try to enjoy high school some."

"Well... I think I've found some friends with bigger problems than me," Jinpei said, grinning.

"What?" Ryu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Got to go," Jinpei said, jogging off to the end of the Snack J's bar where a lady was waiting to be served.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it," Ken Hidaka said, pounding his fist beside his empty dinner plate.<p>

"Please, not again. I'm trying to get my homework done," Omi said, underlining a passage in his French grammar book.

"You aren't going to have that jerk pay for the damage on the van?" Ken asked. "Why? That Jet Link character needs to pay."

"I don't want a big fuss made right after we established ourselves. Besides, it was Aya's choice. The van is registered in his name," Omi said. "He's the one who made the calls to Kritiker. They agreed and are giving us money to fix it. Quietly."

They were sitting at the kitchen table. The new Weiss Kreuz loft was located above the new shop. The four of them were currently sharing the loft, out of convenience.

Ken's aqua eyes narrowed as Aya sat at the table across from Omi. Youji had, for once, remained silent during the argument; he kept shooting Ken dirty across the table.

The youngest assassin's eyes darted around as they all finally cast incredulous looks at him. "What?" Omi asked, blushing and fiddling with his pencil. His sky blue eyes wouldn't quite meet any of their's.

"Fine," Ken growled and stormed out of the room.

Youji sighed. "I'll check on, Mr. Homesick." He shook his head in aggravation, and followed Ken down the hallway to where the bedrooms were. Omi finally looked up and was a little unnerved to see Aya's intense amethyst eyes boring into him. Omi squirmed in his seat.

"You're obligated to Weiss first. Don't forget your responsibilities."

"I'll always put you guys first. I couldn't do otherwise," Omi said. The icy redheaded assassin nodded, keeping a blank look on his face.

* * *

><p>Donald Wade sat up on his bed and shook off his grogginess. He was used to orderlies doing bed checks, but it was always at a regular interval. It was too early for them. The man cracking the door and standing in the glaring hallway light wasn't an orderly Donald knew. The long, wild, red hair and leering expression pegged him as an outsider.<p>

Donald hopped out of his bed and shifted to the balls of his feet when he heard faint screaming from the direction of the orderlies' desk. He still did his kata, in case Galactor decided to come back and punish him for failure.

"I'm not here to punish you for failure," the stranger said, flashing a crafty smile. Donald didn't let surprise come to his face, even though the man had just echoed his thoughts.

He raised his fists, sneered, and said, "What do you want?"

"To deliver you to your new boss. That's all," the stranger said. Donald flinched as the sounds of refreshed agony reverberated out in the hallways.

"What is that? What's going on?"

"Only Farfarello having some sport. Had to promise him a little fun if he agreed to set foot in a lunatic asylum."

"I'm no lunatic!" Donald raged, clenching his fists.

The man threw back his head and laughed, but paused. Donald thought the man was listening to something, but he heard no audible sound except whimpers and pleas for mercy. "No time to argue with you. Crawford says if we delay much longer... things won't end well. This way... Mr. Wade."

"Who are you anyway?" Donald asked, following the redheaded stranger into the hallway.

"Schuldig," the man answered simply.

Donald pulled up short when he saw the one-eyed, pale man standing over two bleeding and bound orderlies. "What do you two want from me?" Donald murmured.

"You're going to be taking care of a little problem in exchange for your freedom. Unless..." Schuldig paused and stooped over one of the trembling, beaten orderlies. He took a deep breath, eyes half closing, almost looking as if he were in ecstasy. "Pain and fear like ambrosia. No time to savor, though. Either come with us, or stay. If you do come with us, you'll indirectly get revenge on the people who put you here."

"I'm coming," Donald blurted out.

"Get rid of the meat-puppets, Farfarello," Schuldig said. The one-eyed, pale man swirled two, long blades around his fingers and plunged them into the orderlies' chests. Donald slowly caught his breath as the orderlies lost their lives and lay dead on the floor. A smile spread across Donald's face; he hated those two orderlies, anyway.

His mind plunged to the past as he jogged after his rescuers. Revenge on Nambu, Washio, and Asakura was a powerful motivator for Donald. It'd be a bonus to get even with the little runt that had taken his place, too. He also had some new, burning anger at Jun and Ryu, neither stood up for him after all the talk of being a team. He still had heavy trepidation leaving with unknown, violent men, but the idea of making the Science Ninja Team suffer overrode it.

He was lead out of the institution where a man in glasses and a formal business suit was waiting in a red BMW. There was also an emaciated teenager in a sweater, in spite of the warm autumn weather. Donald didn't miss the teenager's laptop was plugged into the telephony tandem for the asylum.

"Are you my new employer?" Donald asked the man in the suit.

The man shook his head. "No, but he's waiting. Nagi, take care of the asylum."

The teenager hopped off the car hood and yanked the wire out of the tandem that led to his laptop. Donald knew enough to figure the boy must have been manipulating the computers, telephones, and alarms. That was put out of Donald's mind when he watched the teenager focus on the asylum and slam his foot on the ground.

The next thing he knew, the asylum's building crumpled in on itself with large plumes of smoke, squealing, and rumbling. Donald fought for balance as he watched the asylum sink half way into the ground. Finally, when the noise stopped and the dust settled, Donald swirled and looked at his four rescuers.

"I foresee you're about to run off. If you do that, Mr. Wade, you'll be shot dead tomorrow morning," Crawford said, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. "Get in the car. The police are on their way."

Donald was stunned the man knew what he was contemplating, let alone some outrageous prediction. He sneered at the group. "So you read my mind?"

"I don't read minds, just the future," Crawford said. He opened the door. "I leave the mind reading to Schuldig. Now, get in."

Before he knew it, he was in the back seat with the one-eyed lunatic and the redhead. He'd been witness to a lot stranger things than human psychics. Elation soon quelled the remaining qualms he had over his rescuers. He had no idea who his future employer was, but if it did lead to revenge, there wasn't much he wasn't willing to stoop to.

* * *

><p>"Don't look so depressed, kid," Youji said with a smirk. "We may run into those lovely ladies associated with your new friends."<p>

"Ken's still mad at me," Omi said, in an uncharacteristic funk.

"He's just uptight because he had to leave all of his kids in mid-season. It really has nothing to do with you," Youji said, pulling the delivery van in front of the high school. Omi clenched his lips to bite off his protest. After all, Omi'd had to officially reprimand Ken right before they came to Utoland; he'd almost let a target go.

Omi disagreed with Kritiker's reprimand through him, because Ken had chosen to save a child from being hit by a car instead of covering the exit the target slipped through. Omi had told Manx he would have made the same decision, but she couldn't relent.

What surprised Omi, Ken, and Youji was how viciously Aya verbally attacked Manx over the situation. Since then, Manx had been frosty towards them, and Aya had been less critical of Ken. Aya, though, knew Kritiker was the only way he could hope for revenge, so he now kept silent towards Manx.

"There she is! Out, Omi," Youji said, jarring Omi's thoughts. Omi sighed when he saw Jinpei's adopted sister in front of the van, straddling her motorcycle. He hopped out of the van and hoisted his backpack over his shoulders. Omi walked over to where Jinpei and Ivan were seated on a low stone wall.

"Hey, Jun! Jun, isn't it?" Youji shouted from the florist's van as Jun sped past on her Harley Davidson. Youji took off in the van after Jun.

"I was thinking we shouldn't talk about what we know about each other to our respective teams," Omi said.

"Yeah, I think the others would skin me alive if they knew I told you guys the small amount I did," Jinpei said. "They're giving me enough grief as it is."

_:Agreed. Frances is distraught over my changing situation. It would only worry her to know you both knew I am a cyborg. I know both of your organizations rely on secret identities. Omi is a Bombay and Jinpei is a Falcon; I find it rather ironic.:_

"That is funny. Jinpei is bird-boy," Omi said as Jinpei snickered.

"Okay, kitty-kitty. This bird has talons," Jinpei said with a sly smile.

_ :We cyborgs... our freedom depends on secrecy. We were assigned numbers after we were changed. My not-so-secret identity is Cyborg 001. I was the first.:_ Ivan thought as he hoisted his backpack up on his shoulders. The three of them walked towards the school.

"Why are you hiding out, anyway, Ivan? You really weren't clear on your whole story yesterday," Jinpei asked.

"What do you mean 'the first'?" Omi added.

_:We're still being chased by the organization that made us what we are. They changed against our will,:_ Ivan thought.

"It's pretty terrible you say 'what you are' rather than 'who you are.' It's terrible there are people trying to catch you like some sort of run away slave," Omi whispered, darting glances around as they walked to the school.

"Doesn't your special job ever make you feel like a 'what' rather than a 'who'? Even if you're asked in the beginning, and you get into it for all the right reasons, after a while you're just trapped inside of a whole mess," Jinpei said in hushed tones right before they reached their classroom. Omi shivered. It was the first time he had heard anyone voice what he felt sometimes after really hard Weiss missions.

He frowned and looked at the ground rather than Jinpei's burning, brandy eyes. He didn't want his new friends to see his shame and know how filthy he really was.

"'Sokay. I know how you're feeling right now. I see it. It makes you feel rotten when you have to kill or things get bad," Jinpei continued, whispering. Omi looked up and let out a tense breath. Finally, someone who really did know the pain of killing balanced against the safety of innocents, someone his own age.

"Oh, no," Jinpei hissed when they walked into the classroom. Omi looked up to see the blackboard had the huge chalk message,_ 'Go back to Russia, retard!'_

Omi looked over at Ivan, who seemed impassive as his heterochromatic eyes scanned the blackboard. Ivan walked to his desk and took his seat. The other students giggled and tossed wads of paper at him. Omi was impressed by Ivan's aplomb as he was ridiculed. He wasn't even sure if Ivan knew his feelings should be hurt.

Omi was a little surprised to see Jinpei coolly pick up an eraser and wipe the board clean. Omi followed Jinpei to their desks. He wasn't surprised to see Jinpei kick Aki's desk and glare.

"Keep it up, jerk," Jinpei threatened. They took their seat just as the teacher came in and started class.

* * *

><p>Ken got out of Ryu's borrowed truck and leaned against it. Jun had ask Ken if he'd pick up Jinpei from school. In exchange for the favor, Jun was going to look over the account books for Ken's bush piloting business and figure out how he could trim some of his costs. Ken figured he was getting the good end of the deal.<p>

He looked up when he heard a car pull up behind him. The pulse in his neck pounded hard when he saw the lanky redhead from yesterday get out of the car. He watched the young man stretch towards the sky, then sprawl on the hood of the car. Suddenly, the redhead looked up and scowled towards Ken.

"What are you staring at?" he snapped in sloppy Japanese. Ken felt his face slightly redden, not realizing he had been so rude.

"I think we met yesterday. I apologize," Ken said, grateful he had an excuse.

"You were bailing out that guy. That was three hours in paradise I'll never forget."

Ken found himself put off at the sarcastic tone, but that initial attraction flared up again, in spite of the attitude. The younger man was wearing a thin, worn tee-shirt, that clung tight enough for Ken to he was lean, but well-defined. The cut-off khakis revealed more smooth, fair skin than the jeans he had worn yesterday. Every instinct inside of Ken screamed the redhead was trouble, but he had been known to ignore common sense and take risks before.

But it had always been easier for Ken to face down a squad of Galactor goons than to deal with people on a personal level. More specifically, people he felt attracted to.

"I'm Ken Washio." He said it, testing the hardened shell this person had. He was curious how deep it went and what was underneath.

"Not another Ken. I hope you aren't bad luck for me, too."

"I'm just here to pick up my friend's brother."

"Same here. I don't want any trouble today," the redhead said and then bolted upright. "My name is Jet, by the way. I didn't mean to take out my shitty mood on you. Hey, you don't think your friend is too pissed off about his car? I know that one cost a pretty penny."

"It's okay. He's a race car driver by profession. He actually had it fixed last night through some connections. It won't cost you a thing," Ken said, bending the truth slightly. Dr. Nambu's team at the ISO building had repaired it last night, not any connections through Joe's racing career.

"Thank goodness. Guess you must be a lucky Ken. Hey, my best buddy is a race car driver, too. Small world, hun?"

"Yes. I guess that was your race car friend who bailed you out?"

"What? Albert?" Suddenly, Jet started cackling. "He's a horrible driver! And he reamed me last night for that accident. We've had plenty of fights before, but... damn!"

Ken cursed in his head as the dismissal bell for the school rang. Jinpei came running up with two other boys in tow. Jinpei's expression was drenched in guilt, but before Ken could think about questions for the teenager, there was the tiniest, red dot glowing on his transmute bracelet.

He gave another mental curse when Jinpei looked down at this own wrist, bid the other two boys a hasty farewell, and ran faster towards Ken.

"Come on, we have..."

"I know, Ken," Jinpei snapped and jumped into the truck. Ken turned to Jet and gave a wave before jogging off. He got in and revved up the old engine. The younger man gave him a charming, lopsided smile and a half wave with a smoldering cigarette between the fingers.

"Great! We'll never get there in Ryu's old rust bucket," Jinpei complained after Ken pulled away from the school. He slipped his thumb, quickly, to a button on the side of his transmute bracelet, as did Jinpei.

"Eagle One, Falcon is here with me. Go ahead," Ken said, gripping the steering wheel again.

"Report to the ISO building. This isn't a full alert," came Nambu's response.

"Great! Some dumb meeting," Jinpei groused and slouched down in his seat.

"By the way, I don't know why you were running so fast from school, but you better confess before Jun finds out."

"There's this guy named Aki. He's picking on my friend Ivan, so I..."

"Wait! You didn't beat him up, did you?"

"No... just made his online life more interesting."

"Jin! I warned you..."

"Omi started it!"

"That other kid? He looks too innocent to do anything like that."

"You'd be surprised," Jinpei mumbled sinking lower on the bench seat.

To be continued.


	4. Chapter 4

Part Four:

Youji pushed open the door of the small bar and grill close by the local university; it was named 'The Snack J.' It had a cheery, young, late afternoon crowd. The girl he'd tracked down, however, looked glum. She was leaning over a stack of ledgers while chewing on a pencil. He glanced around to notice she was the only one behind the bar, but three other people in aprons mixed with the customers and waited on them.

He flashed a bright smile as he walked up the other side of the bar and leaned on it. She looked up, and Youji also noticed, she had the most gorgeous green eyes he'd seen. There was a little vanity in that attraction. Those eyes, not entirely Japanese, kept him stunned from using his opening line. Her eyes narrowed in confusion, but she asked, "Aren't you Omi's older brother?"

Youji wasn't surprised by the assumption. "My name is Youji Kudou. Omi and I aren't related. We just work at the same florists shop. I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop in and have a beer. Jun, isn't it?"

"Yes. Coming right up," she said. Youji could tell she was stifling irritation at being yanked away from the books on the bar. He glanced at them while she was at the tap. It was a tangle that would bring an accountant to tears. List of cities, cargo, and money littered the pages.

"It looks like you have a mess on your hands," Youji said when Jun brought the frothy mug over, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"Oh! This? A friend of mine is having issues with his business."

"Your boyfriend?" Youji probed.

"No," she snapped a little too quickly. "Ken is just a friend."

Youji glimpsed the hint of a stormy expression, but Jun quickly pushed it aside. Something was there in that response, but it was too vague to home in on. Youji smirked and said, "Yeah, we won't let the Ken we work with anywhere near our ledgers. He's a disaster with this stuff, too."

"Oh," she said softly and started to drift back into the books.

"So were you doing anything this Friday? You could show me some of the hot spots in town."

Her head snapped up, she looked sincerely surprised. Her mouth opened, but then she suddenly looked down to the bulky watch on her wrist.

"Sorry! I have to go! I have a meeting I forgot about," she said, snatching the ledgers off the bar and jamming them in a box. She waved at one of the waitresses and said, "I've got to run out. You may have to shut down tonight, Keiko." The girl nodded and went back to waiting on customers. Jun raced from behind the counter, but turned to Youji. "Listen, the beer is on the house. I'm sorry, but I'm really too busy right now. Thank you, though."

He smirked as she bolted out the door; Youji took a large swig of beer and leaned over the counter. Utoland City was certainly peaking his interest.

* * *

><p>Ken sat on one side of the sofa. He glanced to the other side and repressed the urge to chide Jinpei for slouching. Jun was already stalking over to the youngest team member. He glanced over his shoulder to see Joe was grim and tight lipped. The Sicilian was leaning against the wall by the door, as was his habit. Ryu lumbered in and flopped down in a chair across from Ken.<p>

He was a little surprised to see irritation on Ryu's broad face when Jun started to nag Jinpei. Normally, the Owl was always so laid back and didn't get critical of Jun's older sister routine. Jinpei's face clenched in ill concealed anger, as she ordered, "Sit up already! I hope you have most of your homework done already."

Ryu leaned forward and said, "Aw, give the kid a break, Jun."

"I'm not a kid," Jinpei snapped at Ryu. That took Ken back some. Ryu looked surprised, but to his credit, the rotund man nodded and sat back.

Ken was grateful when Nambu came in, disallowing any further personal conversation. Nambu, judging by his disproving glance at Jinpei, had overheard it.

"Last night there was an incident at the Katu Sanitorium," Nambu said with no preamble. "The building was destroyed."

Ken felt a slight jolt, but it was Ryu who asked, "Donald?"

"Donald Wade wasn't found. He was the only one unaccounted for when the ruins were searched," Nambu announced flatly. "There is reason to believe he's at large. There were two orderlies who were found... mutilated. Killed viciously."

"What happened?" Ken asked, pushing away his off guard feeling.

"The building was destroyed. Somehow. There were no traces of explosives. Somehow the building was crumpled. Also, there was this." Nambu typed on his computer and brought up the projector. "This was the only video footage recovered."

A disorienting star scene appeared on a screen across the room. It had vivid indigo, black, and amethyst. Ken felt a sense of vertigo, something he rarely experienced. He looked towards Nambu.

"What does it mean, Doctor?"

"We think it was fed into the security cameras from the telephone tandem about twenty minutes before the building collapsed. That's all our initial forensics found. It appears someone took Donald from the sanitarium for some purpose. What bothers me was the two mutilated orderlies found at the scene. They were certainly murdered before the building collapsed. I would hate to think..."

"No! Donald is a lot of things, but he wouldn't murder," Ken snapped.

"We can't rule out anything," Joe's low voice insisted. Ken leaped to his feet and turned to Joe; the Condor was still grim. "He's capable of anything. Besides, he's had six years of nothing to do but think."

Ken was about to dispute Joe, but Nambu said, "Joe is right. Donald has refused my visits over the last two years. He was... or is... very bitter over the events that lead to his incarceration. We can't rule out anything. Right now, I want each of you to be on high alert. That's in your personal lives as well. He knows too much, and could pass that along to anyone he may encounter. I'm going to send you to the sanatorium to see if you can't find a lead to his whereabouts. Try to find who engineered Donald's escape; he had to have help. I have a feeling they were no amateurs."

Ken took in the rest of the scant details from a folder Nambu handed him. During Ken's reading, he got a sense of regret from Nambu. The man kept insisting he should have maintained contact with Donald, and he should have made Ken and the others visit, in spite of Donald's request. Ken left the meeting aggravated that the situation with Donald wouldn't go away.

When they left Dr. Nambu's office Ken glanced at Jinpei and couldn't resist the comparison. Jinpei slouched against the wall with a hostile expression. It was the same expression Donald used to wear at sixteen, right before he defected to Galactor. Jinpei's attitude was growing just as dark and rebellious, too.

He had mentioned it to Joe during a couple of their all night bull sessions, but his stoic, best friend took in the information without any feedback. Ken feared Joe and the others were going to start drawing the same comparisons as they hunted for the first G-4. It all came back to Ken identifying with Nambu's sense of failure towards Donald. Ken started wondering if he, too, was failing Jinpei in the same ways.

Ken shook his head, squared his shoulders, and ordered, "Jun and Jinpei will go with me to the asylum. Joe and Ryu, go investigate..."

"His mother passed away two years ago," Joe said softly. "It was the last time I've seen him."

"What?" Ken snapped and glared at Joe. "You never told me you'd seen Donald!"

"It was out of respect for his mother," Joe shot back. "Nambu let him attend the funeral. We were the only three there. He didn't want me there, but he didn't have a say in the matter. It was the only time I've seen him since we caught him."

"Fine then! The British Consulate. He may try to flee Utoland Island and go to his home country. Try to track down anywhere he may go hide." Ken ordered. Mothers were always a touchy subject with Joe, so Ken let it drop... for now. "And! Everyone, watch your back. Donald may not have his bird-style any more, but he knows a lot about us."

"There's really not much he knows about our current team's status," Jun pointed out.

"He's still a genius. Besides, we don't know who broke him out, or for what purpose. The people, or person who engineered it, have to be dangerous. I still can't imagine Donald turning into a killer," Ken insisted. "Whoever they are... that's who we need to worry about."

* * *

><p>Schuldig stretched his arms towards the celling and flashed Crawford a sly smile. The American clairvoyant was pacing back and forth; he pushed his glasses higher on his nose when they slipped. Schuldig didn't have to bother with his telepathy to read Crawford.<p>

Crawford shot him a caustic glare and nodded at the unspoken words, _:This isn't to your liking, Brad_._:_ Schuldig snickered and flopped on the sofa of Schwarz's new base of operations, an elegant skyscraper hotel suite. Takatori had rented the whole top floor of the posh Utoland Garden's International Hotel to launch his political campaign on Utoland Island. Crawford, however, gathered all of Schwarz in one suite. "What about Takatori?"

"This whole situation will weaken his bid for Prime Minister... if he's found out."

"That's not what we want," Schuldig said.

"It's all too soon for our plans. But this Count Egobossler... His goals are too similar to ours. This whole deal with capturing the Double Zero Cyborgs can be problematic. I'm afraid we'll have to bring in Schreient. "

"Not those filthy whores!" Schuldig snapped, but knew better than to second guess Crawford, not ever. Brad was the best clairvoyant Rosenkreutz ever got their filthy hands on. He was never wrong in the direction he took Schwarz.

Schwarz's goal was simple and elegant, create chaos in the world so a place could be created for psychics to rule. Schuldig appreciated Brad Crawford's plans. World-wide destruction appealed to the German, but if there was another organization trying to achieve the same thing, that certainly could lead to a problem. Crawford was right to be concerned. And to that end, Schreient could prove to be good fodder.

"Yes, and we'll play nice with the ladies," Crawford said, suddenly getting a crafty smile. "Until the cyborgs are gone, and we get Takatori elected to higher office."

"How about..." Schuldig said before he let out a small chuckle that covered his concern. "...how feels about that one girl..."

"What about me?" Nagi spat out as he strolled into the sitting room. The emaciated teenager's arms were crossed, his eyes hardened as usual.

"You know, you should stick to our kind," Schuldig said, waving his hand in the air as a casual gesture. Schuldig wished the boy would get more jaded towards the girl assassin of Schreient.

"I love Tot," Nagi snapped.

"Suit yourself..." Schuldig chanted with a superior tone, but Nagi grew mollified. He was used to Schuldig's teasing.

Nagi gave a glance and a brief nod to Crawford. "The ISO has been investigating our work."

"Good, but we'll leave that up to the Black Ghost organization. However, keep watch on what's going on with them. I want to know everything," Crawford said.

"So, what else, Brad? There is something else on your mind," Schuldig whispered after Nagi stalked off towards his tasks.

Crawford nodded with a furrowed brow. "The baby cyborg, 001. He's one of us. He belongs with us, working with Schwarz to create chaos. We need to keep an eye towards bring him into our fold."

Schuldig smiled again and nodded. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can recruit him."

"Of course. His story is much like any one of ours. He is certainly Schwarz, whether he knows it or not, yet."

* * *

><p>"That's one skilled hacker. I may have something though," Jinpei reported, turning away from the telephony tandem. He glared up at Ken in the dim moonlight.<p>

The moon was just now rising in the sky, giving Jinpei hope he could get home in time to chat online with Julie Leslie. Thursday nights were his only chance at getting time with his long-distance girlfriend, currently in France. Her parents were out, and she'd sneak some time on the computer. The European diplomats didn't exactly approve of Jinpei, after he started getting into trouble, and they thought Julie was too young to be serious about any one boy, especially one half the world away.

"Did you find anything?" Jinpei finally asked, hoping to push Julie out of his mind so he could concentrate better.

"This. It was beside the orderlies' station," Ken said, lofting a thin blade in the air he found in the ruble. Jinpei couldn't see Ken's expression behind his blue visor, but his leader's voice was dour. "I'm guessing it'll match the wounds found on the orderlies. Hopefully, there are fingerprints or something we can use to find the killers."

Jinpei repressed his tart remark and turned to Jun as she appeared from the shadows. "There are no traces of explosives whatsoever. It's like a giant mecha smashed the building into the ground."

"Something like that would have shown up on an ISO satellite," Ken pointed out. "We'll go back and figure out what we have here. You two need to see if satellite did pick up anything."

Jinpei sighed and followed Ken and Jun; that meant he'd miss Julie tonight. He'd have to see about sending her an email message.

They were totally silent all the way back to the ISO building, which suited Jinpei's moodiness just fine. He was irritated with both the Eagle and the Swan, but it wasn't entirely for their uptight behavior towards him lately. It was their uptight behavior towards each other that irritated him to no end.

He was still holding out hope they'd reconcile and start dating again. It only discouraged him to see how brusque they were with one another during this investigation. Jinpei decided he need to step up his plans to get them back together; he just wanted to see Jun happy again. And get her off his back so he could have some more freedom.

* * *

><p>"There is reason to believe Takatori is setting up operations here," Manx said, shifting folders from one arm to the other. She looked around at the four assassins, who were all still giving her the cold shoulder. She suppressed her exasperation and glared at the group in the dim light. "Kritiker wants you to check their operations by breaking into the campaign headquarters. We need to gather more information."<p>

"Crashers' work," Aya sneered.

"Weiss' work is whatever Kritiker needs you to do! Besides, with an ex-detective on your team, it shouldn't take you long," she snapped. She turned to look at Youji. He let out an exaggerated sigh and nodded.

"I got it covered. Shouldn't be a big deal," he said.

"Good. We just haven't had time to set up our field agents in a good position. Just do re-con, but don't tip our hand. Any information about corporations that Takatori is influencing would be a good start. Who is secretly contributing to his campaign? We need to know." After a long, awkward pause, she asked, "Any questions?" Again the silent treatment. She glanced over to Ken, his head was lowered so she couldn't rightly see his expression. This wasn't the first time she'd had trouble with Ken Hidaka and his idealism. She hoped it would settle soon.

She murmured her farewells and left the flower shop. She was shocked to notice Omi chasing after her. He forced a smile and said, "Things will get better. Ken is pretty forgiving. It's just the move on top of the trouble he got into is still pretty hard. He feels guilty."

Manx knew all this, and she felt for Ken, but she hardened herself, as was necessary for this job. "It's your job to assess Ken over the next month. Honestly. If he's slipping up, he must go. You'd be putting Youji and Aya into danger, not to mention Kritiker's interest. Stay focused, Omi, and don't let your friendship get in the way."

Omi's lips tightened. He nodded, a dark tension flooded his wide, blue eyes. A stab of guilt hit Manx as he turned and went back to the flower shop. She turned back to the street and walked towards the police station, wondering if Omi could manage this conflict. He was so young to lead. Sometimes she wonder if he were too young.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing up, Jet?" Chang asked as the redhead stumbled in groggily.<p>

"Couldn't sleep. Albert is tossing and turning. Nothing like a cold, metal fist slammed into your nose to ruin sack time. Got any leftovers?" Jet asked, yanking open the refrigerator.

"Top shelf, help yourself," Chang said, pouring two cups of tea. Jet flopped down at the table with cold lo mien. GB came in and tightened his bathrobe. Change poured a third cup of tea and slid it across the table towards GB and said, "Here you go. You better drink quick since your surgery is tomorrow morning."

"Surgery?" Jet asked.

Chang glanced over at GB, the same look of trepidation was on GB's face. GB forced a smile and waved his hand in the air. "Oh you know, a little nip and tuck. No concern."

Jet's face steadily grew dark. "You're having it removed, aren't you?" he finally exploded.

"Now it's nothing to get aggravated over," GB said.

"Yes, GB's situation is different from Albert's. You can't push Albert into making a decision he's not ready to make," Chang babbled, not wishing to rehash the same argument, yet again.

"He needs to have that self-detonation device removed! Especially, since GB's doing it! That means he can have it done, too! He's just being a bastard! I'm sick of it! He won't respect my opinion!" Jet flung the lo mien on the floor and ran out of the kitchen.

Minutes later, Chang could hear the explosive argument coming from upstairs. He and GB exchanged rolled eyes. GB said, "Great! This one will last for hours!"

"I know. Jet feels like Albert is living in the past, living a suicidal life. He wants Albert to make a commitment by having the self-detonation device taken out of his chest. Just like you're doing."

GB sighed and shook his head. "It seems like they're getting worse, their spats and all. Bloody hell, no sex is worth all that."

"I know." Chang finished his tea. They both started when they heard rapid footsteps towards the front door. Chang could hear Albert shouting after Jet and the slam of the front door. Minutes later, Junior and Pyunma joined them for some tea, since their sleep was now ruined, as well.

To be continued.


	5. Chapter 5

Part Five:

"You're going down, kitty-kitty," Jinpei said, sneering at Omi. The blond assassin took his place next to Jinpei and gave him a lopsided smile.

"Not a chance, bird-boy," Omi said. The coach's whistle sounded shrilly, sending Omi and Jinpei racing down the track. They easily out-stripped the other boys in the gym class and ran neck-in-neck. Both were intense and focused as the competition narrowed to just them: the assassin and the ninja.

The whistle sounded out again. They both slowed down to a jog and walked over to each other while gasping heavily. They both leaned over, hands on knees, and laughed after their breathing slowed somewhat.

"If you ever want to quit your team, I could find you a new career with mine," Omi said, smiling and straightening up once again. They each glanced around, making sure no one was within earshot.

"Are you kidding? I look too good in my bird-style. Of course, you sure could fit in with my team," Jinpei said.

"We should spar together some, and then you can show me the bird-style armor." Omi looked around the outdoor field and asked, "Where is Ivan?"

"Down there," Jinpei said, jerking his thumb to where Ivan was ambling down the race track at a leisurely place.

"Do you think he knew he was supposed to run?" Omi asked.

_:Yes, I did. I'm still pretty awkward. I would just trip over my feet if I ran. In another month Dr. Gilmore said I should be use__d__ to walking.:_ Ivan thought over towards his friends.

"Nambu! Tsukiyono! You two come here," the gym coach shouted, waving them over. They walked over to the rotund man. He was grinning at them. "You boys have to try out for the track team!"

"Well I don't know, sir. I have an after school job," Omi said, glancing over at Jinpei.

"I'll do it! Come on, Omi! It'll be a blast," Jinpei said. "When do we show up?"

"Monday afternoon will be the try outs. Be here after the last bell," the coach said, smacking each of them on the shoulder. "Hey! You boys get down from there," the coach shouted and ran off towards the bleachers.

"Jin, we can't try out for the track team," Omi said.

"It'll be so cool to do something for myself for once! Please... be a pal, Omi, and try out with me. Oh no..." Jinpei stopped his badgering and narrowed his eyes as he looked back down the race track. "Don't those goons learn?" Jinpei groused and took off down the race track to where Aki had tripped Ivan and poured a drink canister on his head.

Jinpei shoved Aki onto the track and took up a fighting stance. Aki sprang up but froze for an instant, which allowed Jinpei to knock him out. Omi had noticed a bright flash from Ivan's right, blue eye when it happened. The left, reddish-brown eye had remained normal.

"Did you help Jinpei out?" Omi asked, trying to pull Ivan up. He was shocked to notice the lanky boy weighed as much as two obese adults.

_:Only a little.:_

"I could have taken him," Jinpei said to Ivan.

_:I know, but I felt responsible. Sorry.:_ Ivan thought as they walked to the locker room.

"You know what we should do, Jin? Teach Ivan how to shoot weapons and fight hand-to-hand," Omi suggested.

"Great idea! But I can't sneak you guys into the ISO building or Dr. Nambu's house. Do you guys have a dojo?" Jinpei asked. Omi smiled brightly and nodded.

* * *

><p>"Come on, guys," Omi said and waved to Jinpei and Ivan, who had been hiding behind the flower shop's dumpster.<p>

"How did you get them out of the shop?" Jinpei asked.

"Easy enough. I scheduled flower deliveries at three different weddings. They won't be around until dark; brides always take a long time. Then Manx had a job that Youji and Ken accepted tonight. Aya likes to hang out on his own so it shouldn't be a problem," Omi said, hoisting up some keys.

He led Jinpei and Ivan down a staircase located in the back of the shop. He unlocked a thick metal door at the foot of the stairs that hid the basement-turned-Weiss dojo.

"Wow. This is great," Jinpei said. He was impressed by all the practice equipment and large area to work in. "Transmute," Jinpei said. He was suddenly in his bird-style with a bright flash. He wiggled the yellow, beak shaped visor slightly. His smile was the only visible part of his face now. His new friends looked on with admiration at his winged, malleable armor.

"You want to target shoot?" Omi picked up his crossbow.

Jinpei produced a pair of bolos. "This is my weapon of choice."

"Guests first," Omi said, waving towards a practice dummy.

Jinpei and Omi took turns shooting and tossing at the practice dummy at the other end of the dojo. After four turns they looked at Ivan.

"You want to have a turn?" Omi held out his crossbow.

"You mean... hitting... the target?"Ivan asked, getting a very crafty grin.

"Yeah. Take your best shot at the dummy," Omi said. Ivan held out his left palm, his right eye glowed. The dummy shattered with a loud explosion, knocking Omi and Jinpei on their rumps. They got up and gaped at Ivan.

_:Did I do something wrong?:_

"No. Omi just forgot how literal you are," Jinpei said. Omi shot Jinpei an irritated glance. "Maybe we'll do some hand-to-hand now."

Omi and Jinpei demonstrated different defensive maneuvers and had Ivan imitate. Ivan quickly picked up the idea. Jinpei attack Ivan and threw him to see if he had progressed. Ivan flipped through the air and landed with a dull thud.

"Good night! What did they make you out of?" Jinpei griped, rubbing his back while hunched over. Sudden mental pictures flooded his mind, and he could actually see Ivan's teenage body being built though Ivan's eyes when he was still in a baby's body. "Oh man! Way too much information! That's was just too... too... too graphic."

"You forgot how literal he can be, hun?" Omi asked with a crafty smile.

_:Someone is coming. Ran is his name:_ Ivan thought.

"Hide quick. It's actually Aya, he goes by his sister's name," Omi franticly whispered. Jinpei darted upwards using his bird-style to get himself to the dark rafters. Ivan simply levitated towards Jinpei.

"What's going on here?" Aya asked. Omi jumped a little and flashed him a smile.

"Nothing. Why?" Omi asked. Aya walked over to the pulverized practice dummy and raised an eyebrow.

"You got a little carried away?" Aya asked.

"Sorry. It was an accident. Why are you home so early, anyway?" Omi asked, hoping to get Aya off topic. Aya shrugged; he removed his overcoat and black turtleneck sweater.

"Are you planing on practicing?" Omi asked with wide eyes when Aya took out his katana and nodded. "Well, Manx called when you were away. I need someone to go pick up the papers she has for me. I'm still investigating the arms deal on the dock that Ken and Youji's target made last night. We need to find those guns, too. I'd appreciate it if you found a way to meet Manx."

Aya put his katana away, and pulled his dark sweater over his head again. Omi was still as Aya gave the room one long look. Those cold, amethyst eyes even traveled towards the shadowy ceiling. He finally left with a soft click of the door.

Omi collapsed flat on the practice mat and fought to steady his breathing. Ivan floated down and hovered over him horizontally, three feet between them. He didn't even hear Jinpei's descent until he plopped down by Omi's head.

"We've got to be more careful," Omi said.

_:Why are you so concerned with me defending myself against Aki and his gang? Does it really matter what they do to me? I'll outlive them by thousands of years, so what they say to me is of no real consequence.:_

"Yes, it is!" Jinpei suddenly shouted, snapping Omi and Ivan's heads towards him. "You need to learn to fight for yourself, or you'll become like that thing, the Sosai. My team fights against an alien consciousness that locked itself inside a super computer several millennium ago. It has no compassion or concern for the living. Aki and his gang, even though they're scum, are still living."

They were quiet for several long moments. Ivan continued to float above Omi as his face took on an baffled expression.

_:Do you think I have a soul any more?:_ Ivan asked, causing a shudder to pass through Omi. He didn't know how to answer Ivan; Jinpei looked just as baffled.

* * *

><p>"The guys are staying for supper. Who's cooking?" Omi asked, leading Jinpei and Ivan into the loft. A fowl stench filled the air as Ken hung out the window; he was choking. Youji just lay on the sofa with a crinkled nose. "I'm sorry, guys. It must be Aya's night."<p>

"Whoa. Next time we eat at my place. Big Sis cooks great," Jinpei said, waving his hand in front of his upturned nose.

"Yes... need to... go to... my place. Chang is a... professional... Chinese... chef. Awesome... food," Ivan got out before a coughing fit took hold. Aya appeared from the kitchen and slammed a large pot down on the table.

"Take it or leave," he announced, glowering.

"Come on, boys. My treat," Youji said, grabbing his jacket and keys from the door side chair. Omi, Jinpei, Ivan, and Ken all ran after Youji. Aya gave his cooking a quick sniff and then followed behind them with an aggravated expression.

* * *

><p>"So your sister is dating a guy? How serious?" Youji asked Ivan as he dished more pasta on the apparent teenager's plate.<p>

"Frances.. with... guy named... Joe. They are... happy," Ivan said. Youji got an exasperated look on his face and sipped on his wine again. He fixed his emerald eyes on Jinpei.

"Nothing doing. Big Sis wouldn't be interested," Jinpei answered before Youji could ask. "She got burned recently and is not ready to get back on the saddle again."

"Yeah, but there is a little something called revenge sex," Youji said with a wicked smirk.

"We're eating, Youji," Omi said with an authoritative lilt and heavenward cast eyes before he got back to his food.

"I did swing by the Snack J once? She did seem a little on the distracted side. I'll have to swing by there again and see if I can't take her mind off things," Youji said with a dreamy smile. Jinpei shook his head and let out a slight giggle at the picture of Jun turning down this persistent playboy. Knowing her, she would give him a few broken bones to remember her by.

_:Jinpei, have you noticed how unhappy all of these people seem to be? Just think your response, and I'll be able to ready your thoughts.:_

_:Yeah, but they sure do hide it well.: _Jinpei thought with envy at the easy, affectionate way Omi interacted with his teammates. Jinpei watched how Youji teased Omi and ruffled his hair. Ken would throw an arm around Omi and talk enthusiastically about finding an opportunity to coach children's soccer again. Even the icy Aya would do little things like refill Omi's glass without a word being exchanged.

Jinpei remembered when it was like that for the Science Ninja Team during the old Berg Katse days. It was Joe's death and reappearance that was the turning point. Now, everyone was so worn out and had raw feelings towards each other; they were just going through the motions of family-like behavior. None of them relished the idea of suffering through losing a teammate again, but they were all duty-bound to stay. It was as if they were in a marriage with the seven year itch. Jinpei sighed, remembering that their team was on year six.

_:Maybe I need your ability to read minds, Ivan. They just seem so happy together.:_

_:Each Weiss Kreuz member has experienced a great deal of loss, heartache, and pain. They make their happiness with each other because they have no choice.:_ Ivan thought.

_:It'll fade away after a while. What if one of them gets killed? Then what? It'll tear their hearts to pieces and they'll be left empty, broken, and alone! A nice guy like Omi doesn't deserve such hell. Oh good night... what if Omi gets killed. I just couldn't...:_ Jinpei thought, a headache starting around his temples. He started doubting the wisdom of his new friendships.

_:You were about to think about how excruciating it is to see a friend die. Someone as kind as Omi? But isn't it more painful to you when you live with them and they are distant from you? Lately, __Jun has been too absorbed in her business. It has made her stressed, along with the fact that the object of her affections, Ken Washio, finally rebuffed her last year. Ryu has the demands of his sickly father, __tearing him away from the spare time you used to have with him. Also, you are still angry from when __your Condor Joe died. It was a gruesome event that was nothing but him suffering a great deal. Countless bullets and a terminal brain tumor. He never said goodbye to you. When he came back to the land of the living he was withdrawn and cold. A machine like me. It keeps hurting you how they have all shut you out over the last year.: _Ivan thought back to Jinpei's mind.

"Shut up," Jinpei snarled at Ivan as he bolted from the table. Everyone was silent as they turned their heads to Jinpei. Even the other diners at the Italian restaurant looked Jinpei's way. He blushed horribly and sat back down.

"Are you okay?" Omi asked.

"I have a headache," Jinpei said in a whisper as he looked down at his plate. Everything Ivan had thought was true, but all of it was too hard for Jinpei to face at once.

"I can drive you home on my motorcycle if you need it," Ken offered.

"Actually, Hidaka-san, I'd appreciate it if you drive me a couple of places after dinner," Jinpei said. He dove into his food after Ken nodded. The other diners continued their eating.

_:Jinpei, I'm so sorry if I hurt you.:_ Ivan thought.

_:Don't worry about it, but I do wonder if you have room for me over where you live. I'm a little tired of the Snack J and need some time on my own.:_

* * *

><p>"Here," Ken said, handing Jinpei his helmet. Jinpei shook his head at the proffered head gear while the rest of the Youji's dinner guests piled into his car.<p>

"If we get into an accident, I'll be able to handle myself," Jinpei said. Ken gave him a skeptical look, but got on his motorcycle.

"Where to?"

"The International Science Organization building. It's on Crescent Reef Avenue beside the UN building. Then I need to go to the Snack J three blocks south from the Utoland University. Afterwards, I would appreciate it if you could drop me off at Ivan's home," Jinpei said. Ken gave Jinpei an odd look, but suppressed his questions.

Jinpei got on behind him and lightly held the ex-soccer player's shoulders. Ken was pleased to notice Jinpei was experienced at riding as a passenger on a motorcycle. He leaned at the right time in the right ways. Ken sped up and rode harder when he realized this.

Ken rolled up to the guardhouse. A man in a crisp blue uniform greeted them. The man handed Jinpei a clipboard and checked an ID he produced from the pocket of his baggy jeans. The yellow and black rail rose giving Ken a path to the large glass sky scraper.

"Wow. This is swanky," Ken said, looking at the large red ISO lettering at the top of the building.

"Wait here. I shouldn't be too long," Jinpei said.

He hopped off and ran to the door that had two more uniformed guards. Ken saw the teenager was let in after his ID was double checked. It made Ken wonder what was so important inside the building and exactly what the ISO did. He shook his head and smirked, wondering if he was starting to think more like Youji

* * *

><p>"Doctor, I need to talk to you," Jinpei said, knocking at Nambu's door and cracking it slightly.<p>

"Come in, Jinpei," Nambu called out. Jinpei was startled to see Ken and Joe were sitting on a sofa to the right. They were pouring over a pile of paperwork between them while the Doctor was shuffling folders on his desk. All three sets of eyes turned towards him; they were all curiosity mixed with light annoyance.

"I wasn't expecting you guys to be here, too," Jinpei said, crossing his arms. His stomach flip-flopped as he almost lost his nerve.

"What is, Jinpei?" Dr. Nambu snapped.

"I'm quitting," Jinpei blurted out. He had worked out a speech on the elevator ride up, but it had evaporated down to two words.

"This isn't unexpected," Ken said after several long minutes. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm tired of it. Our team is just running around in circles and getting nowhere fast. I want to enjoy what's left of my teenage years. I can't do that around you people," Jinpei said. Bitterness oozed out, in spite of his desire to remain controlled.

He fumbled with his transmute bracelet, which hadn't left his wrist in almost seven years. He was amazed at how much he was trembling. He tossed it on Nambu's desk and turned to leave. He had hoped for a more graceful exit, but he stumbled over his feet.

"Jinpei! You know that's not how this works," Nambu said with a raised voice as he bolted out of his chair. Jinpei slowly turned and gave him a sour look.

"I'm not going to turn into Donald Wade if that's what you're afraid of!" Jinpei now felt justified letting his bitterness out. He gave a short dry laugh and shook his head. "Maybe you need to not assign your next sucker the number four. It seems to be bad luck."

Jinpei turned and raced down the hallway to the elevator, but he was a hair too slow for Joe. The elevator door closed right behind Joe, leaving Ken and Nambu behind. Jinpei rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and toed the corner when the Condor punched the button for the ground floor. They were trapped together on the long ride down.

"Here. Take this," Joe said with no preamble. Jinpei's eyes grew wide seeing him remove a long nosed gun from his black jacket.

"That's your old air gun," Jinpei murmured in shock. It was the one thing Joe only parted with once in seven years. Jinpei's finger tips caressed the cool nose. Jinpei shook his head with a defiant look. Joe swirled the butt around lighting quick and held it towards Jinpei.

"Take it, until we catch Donald Wade again," Joe ordered. Jinpei took it with shaky hands. He felt so undignified. His fantasy was to tell the doctor off and have him beg Jinpei to stay. Instead, he was scared half to death and accepting the only possession Condor Joe had any regard for like a clumsy, ten-year-old. "Without bird-style, you'll be alone in this world. You'll need to learn to protect yourself. It's time you did move on."

"Why, Joe? Why does everything have to be this way?" Jinpei asked, fighting the tears in his eyes. He refused to let them loose in front of someone he looked up to.

"Donald asked the same thing before he quit. But he meant to ask why we had to use our talents and weapons to defend people. He became ambitious and greedy; he became nothing more than a tool of Berg Katse's in the end. It's good to look inside yourself, but don't lose yourself while you're trying to find out who you are," Joe said.

"I'm not like him," Jinpei insisted through gritted teeth.

"No, you aren't. You have a good heart; his was rotten from the start. Just remember that we are all family," Joe said, giving him a direct look Jinpei couldn't fully meet. The elevator swished open; Jinpei tucked the air gun into the back of his waistband and covered it with his teeshirt. Jinpei leaped out of the elevator. Joe followed him out the door and down to where Ken Hidaka waited.

"Maybe if you would have acted like family, this wouldn't be happening right now," Jinpei accused as he hoisted himself on the motorcycle.

"Wait," Joe said and walked over to his Cobra. He fished around in the small trunk and came back with a dark blue helmet. Joe held it out. "You'll need to start thinking about things like this from now on." Jinpei took it reluctantly. He shoved it on and tapped Ken on the shoulder. Ken revved up the motorcycle and took off.

* * *

><p>The Weiss assassin followed Jinpei into the Snack J bar. The music pounded in Ken's head with a driving beat that brought a smile to his lips. The place seemed pretty popular with the college-age kids. There was a dance floor to the left, crowded booths in the center, and an Internet lounge to the right. They made their way to the crowded bar in the back where Ken had a seat.<p>

"What do you want? It's on me for doing this favor," Jinpei shouted over the blaring music. The assassin shook his head.

"I'm not a drinker," Ken shouted back. Jinpei fixed him a virgin banana daiquiri and slid it towards him. Jinpei left and ran up the stairs behind the bar. Ken picked up the drink, but found himself unable to even sip it. It was way too sweet. Several minutes later Jinpei flew down the stairs with a large backpack and motioned for Ken to follow him.

Ken hopped on his motorcycle, choosing not to question the tears running down Jinpei's freckled checks. A young, dark-haired woman chased after them but stopped short of Ken's motorcycle. Ken started his motorcycle and took off feeling sick to his stomach at her grief-stricken face.

To be continued.


	6. Chapter 6

Part Six:

_:Come on, Jinpei.:_ Ivan thought, letting Jinpei in through the back door of the kitchen. They snuck upstairs and darted down the darkened hallway. Ivan open his bedroom door, and they both scrambled in. _:The others refused to let me have you over. They don't know you're here so we have to keep quiet. Did you really quit the Science Ninja Team?:_

"I sure did," Jinpei whispered. He quickly threw off his backpack and jacket. He took Joe's air gun out of his waistband and tossed it on Ivan's bed.

_:What happened?:_ Ivan asked.

"I'm too tired. I've been through an emotional grinder tonight. Can I just have a blanket and sleep on the floor?" Jinpei mumbled, pulling off his orange Billabong logo tee-shirt and kicking off his sneakers at the same time.

_:You can take my bed. You look too tired.:_ Ivan said. _:I have an odd sleep cycle.:_

"I'll take you up on it," Jinpei said, flopping on Ivan's bed. His fingers curled around the nose of Joe's air gun as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

><p>Brad Crawford watched the teenager sneak into the posh town home around eleven at night. He sat in his rental sedan parked across the street. Schwarz had finally found the Double Zero Cyborgs several days after the orders from Takatori.<p>

He glanced over at Schuldig; the German telepath was rubbing his temples, a sour expression crossed his face. Schuldig looked over and stopped, flushed with embarrassment.

Crawford observed blandly, "He's strong."

"Keeping him from sensing anything is going to be trouble, Brad," Schuldig groused. "He's already giving me headaches."

Crawford pushed his glasses higher on his nose as a smug expression came to his face. "I have it all planned out. We'll need to wait. Things aren't ready for us yet."

"How long?"

"This is the house we'll be staking out for the next week. We'll be taking a very detailed inventory of all the inhabitants in preparation for Schreient's arrival," Crawford said.

Schuldig's sour expression didn't lighten any at the mention of the female assassin group, but he didn't protest or complain. Brad started the car, it wasn't like Schuldig to be so silent. Maybe Ivan Gamo was stronger than first reported. If that were true, Brad knew it was certainly worth Schwarz's time to go after the Double Zero Cyborgs and ignore Weiss. At least, for now.

* * *

><p>"We're closed for business," Ken Hidaka said, walking up behind the man who was peering through the darken storefront window.<p>

"Sorry. I was hoping to find a florist. My name is Kempler," the strange man held out his hand. Ken warily took it, because he was unwilling to be outright rude to a foreigner. He gasped and jerked his hand back when a shock went all the way to his shoulder blade.

Ken was a little shaken to see something had sliced through his thick glove and punctured his palm. When he looked up, the paunchy man with the thick mustache was gone.

He went up to the loft quickly; he was more aggravated than anything else. He removed his glove and unlocked the door. Youji was the only one still up.

"Hey. There are some real kooks in this city," Ken said going to the kitchen sink . Youji followed him with an amused look. "Some pervert looking for flowers when its almost midnight. He got my hand and then just disappeared."

"Your hand? Let me see it," Youji came over with paper towels and examined Ken's right hand. It looked like a large dog fang had struck dead center in Ken's palm. Ken was a little concerned about the purplish ring starting to appear.

"You know, there was a weird man in the shop while you were picking up lunch. He called himself Kempler. He bought some flowers from Aya. Aya went to hand back the change, the man punctured his hand too. Only it was from the top close by the middle knuckle, but it looks the same," Youji said.

"You're kidding. The man downstairs said his name was Kempler," Ken said with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, Aya. Come here for a minute," Youji shouted.

"What is it?" the redheaded assassin asked from the doorway.

"Lets see your hand," Youji said. Aya held it out palm down. Youji held both punctures side by side.

"This doesn't look good, boys," Youji said. Aya and Ken got furrowed brows as they yanked their hands back from Youji. "We should call Manx and..."

"Nothing doing!" Ken shouted, shaking his hand.

"Forget it," Aya affirmed.

"Something strange is going on and you'd ignore it?" Youji blustered indignantly.

"Drop it," Aya warned in a low voice, clenching his hand into a fist. Youji's eyes narrowed. Ken felt his heart start to thump wildly; he knew this was going to be a long, contentious night.

* * *

><p>"This will be marvelous," Scar said as the coffin sized capsule was unveiled. "They thought they had destroyed you, my dear Cyborg 0012, but no such luck. They only tore down your body... that house you lived in. You won't escape back into death that easy, Lady Manma Yana! You will forget who you were and be Cyborg 0012 again! Now it's time you were implanted in a larger building. It will be a new body for you. A large, modern building for you to control. It's called the International Science Organization building. You will use it to catch a new enemy: The Science Ninja Team."<p>

The elegant woman with a heart-shaped face and mossy colored hair rested in the white satin lining of the capsule. She was unmoving, unfeeling. Soon she would be sitting in front of another chessboard, controlling a building that would be her new body. All the people within the building would become her pawns.

* * *

><p>Omi knocked on the door to the posh townhouse and waited patiently. It was a crisp, clear, autumn dawn. A tall, handsome African with deep, ebony skin answered the door. He was dressed in sweat cloths and looked as though he were headed out.<p>

"Hi. I'm a friend of Ivan's. My name is Omi Tsukiyono. I know it's early, but I'd appreciate it if I could talk to him," Omi said with a smile that didn't reach his sky blue eyes.

"I'm Pyunma Dwmbee. Ivan hasn't come down from his room yet. I'm positive he's awake if you'd care to go up," the man said in his rich, accented voice as he waved Omi in. He followed Pyunma up a wide staircase and down a darkened hallway. The room at the end was where they stopped.

The tall African knocked on the door. A few minutes later Ivan cracked his door open.

"One of your friends is here," Pyunma said. Ivan's mouth quirked into the semblance of a smile.

"Thank... Dwmbee," Ivan stuttered. Omi didn't miss the flash in the African's eyes. It was a cool analytical look of a seasoned solider.

Omi had seen plenty of professional soldiers turned mercenary; he knew this man... or cyborg... was one. Omi also knew if the man was very good, he'd see behind Omi's soft appearance and know there was more.

"Thank you, Mr. Dwmbee," Omi said in a whisper before going into Ivan's bedroom. Ivan closed the door and locked it as Omi sank to the floor.

"I'm so sorry about waking you up, Ivan, but I just couldn't stay at home any longer," Omi whispered, noticing Jinpei passed out on Ivan's bed dressed in nothing but jeans as he clutched the barrel of a long nosed weapon Omi didn't recognize.

_:I don't sleep like normal people. I used to sleep ten days for every two weeks I was awake. I haven't slept since I got my new body which was seven weeks and four days ago. Dr. Gilmore predicts I'll sleep like that again if I start aggressively using my abilities.: _Ivan thought, levitating a chair over for Omi. The blond assassin sat in it, giving Ivan a raised eyebrow.

"You've been using telepathy and telekinesis like mad. What's aggressive for you?" Omi asked, a little curious.

He and Jinpei had speculated how powerful Ivan was, but they really had no idea. That was until Ivan projected into Omi's mind his memories of deflecting an entire missile strike back on fifty tanks that were trying to destroy the Double Zero Cyborgs.

_:The only thing I haven't totally masted yet is transporting matter from one spot to another. I haven't tried it in my new body, but Dr. Gilmore has great hopes that I can master it now, and even learn other skills. Being trapped inside a baby's body limited me by constantly causing me great exhaustion.:_

"You've got to be kidding?" Omi asked softly. Ivan shook his head and sighed. Omi just couldn't picture Ivan being a baby under two months ago.

_:You didn't come here to talk about me. Your teammates had a fight last night and you're scared for them.:_ Ivan thought into Omi's mind. Omi expression grew dark.

"You've probably read my mind and already know the problem," Omi said.

_:I know it helps to vocalize problems. Talk about it.:_

"Ken and Aya got scratched by a stranger so Youji thought it was a good idea to have them checked out by a Kritiker doctor. They drew blood and everything, but they didn't find anything. They seemed okay. Youji was aggravated with himself for getting so worked up over what looked like a couple of dog bites.

"We got home at three am. That's when they started in on each other. Aya thinks its dangerous anyway and is convinced Schwarz is up to something. Youji started teasing him for being silly over a pinprick that wasn't even infected. Aya said, 'it would be different if happened to you.' And then Ken chewed out Youji because the marks have these weird purple rings around them. That's when Youji said something vulgar and uncalled for. It disintegrated into a three way brawl after that.

"We're all so tired from the move and stressed out because our first mission here on Wednesday night went bad. I didn't put something in my report to Persia; Manx found out and lowered the boom on all of us while we were at the hospital last night," Omi finished whispering his story with a flushed face.

"You should have called us," Jinpei whispered.

"I'm so sorry for waking you up, Jin," Omi said, watching Jinpei sit up on Ivan's bed. "You stayed here all night?"

"Yeah. Last night I thought you had it pretty good living with those guys," Jinpei said.

"I do. It's just that we fight sometimes, like families do. They're all I have so I hate to see them tear at each other. But thanks to my lying about the last mission, my loyalty to Persia is being questioned. Manx told me I had to get my head clear about who comes first in my life," Omi said. "She also told me mistakes like that can't happen in our profession."

"That's what I'm talking about. We're all just cogs in these... killing machines!" Jinpei snapped.

"Persia's been good to me. He and Manx are just worried about us. It's the idea of protecting innocent lives; that's what we're about," Omi explained, but he could hear the doubt about Persia in his own voice.

"Sorry if I'm cynical. You should quit, too. Listen, I'm going to get cleaned up," Jinpei said, grabbing his bag and taking it with him into Ivan's bathroom. The ninja boy paused and turned to Omi at the door, "Ask yourself this: if you did have such faith in Persia, why did you lie in the first place?" Minutes later Omi heard the shower going.

Omi shivered on the chair as his mind tried to predict what Persia would do since Weiss' latest missions had turned sour. He shrugged it off realizing he really needed someone like Jinpei as a friend. Someone not a part of the Weiss, but someone who understood all the same, and was willing to throw the hard questions at him.

"It's been a hard night for him, too. From what Ken told me I was able to piece together most of what happened," Omi whispered to Ivan. He preferred to shift his concern to his friends.

_:He ran away from Jun's home and quit the Science Ninja Team.:_

"Ivan," a female's voice shouted from the other side of the door. She pounded firmly. "Ivan you let me in right now! I overheard that you let your friend Jinpei stay over!"

"Why... can't I... have guests? Not... fair," Ivan asked, opening his door. Omi lowed his head, not wishing to be in the middle of another family styled argument.

"Well, since they're here they may as well come down for breakfast," the blond French woman said in an exasperated tone as she marched away from the opened door.

_:She's mad because I chose to disobey her wishes for the first time.: _Ivan thought to Omi just as Jinpei walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist.

* * *

><p>Jinpei and Omi sat at the large breakfast table with the nine cyborgs and two elderly doctors. The plum dumplings served by the rotund Chinese cyborg were the best Jinpei had ever tasted. He sat in between Omi and Ivan; all three were dressed in their school uniforms.<p>

"So, Ivan mentioned you two are both into sports," Joe finally spoke up, giving Jinpei and Omi a smile.

"I'm more into computers, but I do like to run and target shoot. Jinpei's more of the athlete," Omi said, smiling back. Jinpei could tell Omi was already starting to relax from last night's tension.

Jinpei had a small flare of jealousy when he realized that it was because Omi had faith that he and his teammates would come together again in spite of the fight. Jinpei was relieved for Omi, but he was still mentally chewing on his own problems from the night before. He didn't have the same faith in the rest of his teammates.

"Good. I hope you boys will get him to do more physical activities and socializing in after school events," Frances said. "He can be so shy, sometimes."

"He seems fine to me, Miss. Arnoul. As a matter of fact, he seems like one of the more normal people I've met lately," Omi said brightly with an endearing smile as everyone else at the table just gawked at him. Jinpei knew Omi meant it was a good thing to see Ivan question if he had a soul yesterday. It was normal that a teenager start thinking about these philosophical concepts.

"Guess that leaves you out of the loop, Nambu," Jet finally teased. Jinpei nervously laughed and slumped in his chair.

"Yeah... well... I got some problems at home I'm trying to work out," Jinpei said.

"I've been there, kid. Do you have a place to go?" Jet asked.

"Not really. I'm sorry for getting Ivan to break your rules, but I would have had to stay on the streets last night. Thanks for being so understanding," Jinpei said.

"You ain't stayin' on the damn streets!" Jet said with clenched fists.

"Jet! It's not your place to get in between a minor and his family," Albert Heinrich snapped. Jinpei watched the American and German scowl at each other. There was some unspoken hostilities between them, and somehow, Jinpei had suddenly became their latest topic to argue over. He knew this from Ken and Jun's dating fiasco.

"Here they go again," GB mumbled, rolling his eyes before sipping his tea.

"Thanks, but I'll figure things out," Jinpei said quickly, hoping the potential drama would defuse.

"You don't know what it's like when it gets bad at home, Al. Are you just going to toss a kid out in need?" Jet asked, not moving his eyes from the stoic German.

The question brought to Jinpei's mind one instance where he'd been slapped once by Joe for getting a little too mouthy about five years ago. Ken, Ryu, and Jun had never lifted a finger in anger to Jinpei, nor had Dr. Nambu. Some of the words Ken, Jun, and Dr. Nambu had thrown around certainly hit his spirit pretty hard over the last year.

"You need to mind your own business, Jet," Albert said with aplomb.

"It's time you kids get to school," Dr. Gilmore announced from the end of the table before Jet exploded.

"I'll drive you boys today," the half Japanese cyborg said, getting up from the table.

"Thanks, Mr. Shimamura. Thanks everyone for being so understanding," Jinpei said, standing.

* * *

><p>"It's a refrigeration unit. It was ordered three weeks ago for the kitchen," the man in coveralls said, waving the invoice in front of the ISO guard. The guard double checked the schedule. Indeed the refrigerator in the cafeteria's kitchen was due to be replaced three days ago, but the men had been no-shows.<p>

"You guys are late," the guard criticized. "Will you be done by the end of the day?"

"Oh, yes. It won't take us long at all," the driver in coveralls said, smiling. "We apologize for the delay."

"Go ahead," the ISO guard said, waving them in. The man drove his truck around the back of the ISO building and backed into the empty loading dock area. He and the passenger leaped out of the truck and unlatched the back door to the truck's cargo hold. A ninety-one year old man was sitting beside the coffin sized crate in the back. He gave a start and shielded his eyes against the sudden light.

"Remember, Dr. Gamo! Do this right and we'll be able to get your son back so he can serve the Black Ghost organization again," the driver said.

"Ivan," the mad, Russian surgeon murmured. His wrinkled face took on a wild expression as his eyes became fire. "My greatest achievement! My first successful experiment in cybernizing the human brain. My way into the Black Ghost organization. He will come back, and I promise he'll be a good boy this time. I'll get that Gilmore back for corrupting him! Here. Push Cyborg 0012. I'm way too old for this manual labor."

The men pushed 0012's crate, which was propped on wheels. The crate, marked refrigeration, wasn't even glanced at as the three of them walked through the ISO building to a service elevator. Doctor Gamo punched the button to the lowest bowls of the ISO building.

They arrived in a low, dark, cinder blocked hallway. Doctor Gamo found the room marked 'Telecommunications' and motioned the men to break in. They made quick work of the lock and wheeled 0012's crate in. Doctor Gamo watched the hallway while the men quickly cracked the crate open. He closed the door and shoved her metal casket into a secure place behind the racks of wires.

"Ah... you were so lovely, my dear Madam Yana. My dear, dear Cyborg 0012." Doctor Gamo flicked a scalpel out that gleamed in the dim light. "You'll be lovely again as soon as I give you this brand new body." Doctor Gamo slapped his hand against the clear glass encasing the elegant woman's partially cybernized body. He glared at her motionless face. "You were more grateful to me than that son of mine. It was his mother! I'm glad I beat her to death! She interfered, you know. She was about to take him from me, but I showed her," he snarled.

"Doctor, get to work," the driver snarled.

"Yes, of course," Doctor Gamo said, taking wires from the telecommunications racks and plugging them into 0012's metallic casket. "A few adjustments to your brain and then you will replicate your influence throughout this building. It will be your new body."

Doctor Gamo carefully slid the glass case only part way from 0012's head. He lowered the scalpel towards her mossy green hair. He had to work quickly lest her body start to decay, exposed to oxygen.

The Black Ghost organization had taken the woman from the 1890s airtight crypt and sealed her away for future use after the nine cyborgs rebelled; they only granted her as many advancements as necessary, because they knew how ambitious and devious she truly was. This way, they could control the brilliant noblewoman. She was the wife of one of their forefathers; he helped grow the secret society that became the Black Ghost organization after the Second World War.

Two hours later, Gamo had made the final adjustment and slid the glass back into place. He took out an old-fashioned, rusty key and stuck it in a slot on the casket's side. He turned it three times and took the key back as the casket started to make a low humming noise.

"It's done. Set up her chess set," Doctor Gamo said. The men in coveralls took out a chessboard that was heavy and thick with electronics. They put the pieces on the board and sat a chair behind the black side. Cyborg 0012 always let her opponents have the fist move.

To be continued. 


	7. Chapter 7

Part Seven:

Jinpei swore and fished in his backpack for his cell phone the moment Joe Shimamura dropped the three boys off in front of the high school. He turned to the other two and said, "I've got to call Julie! I was supposed to IM her last night."

"Julie?" Omi asked.

"My girlfriend," Jinpei explained, feeling his cheeks slightly warm. "She lives in France, so I don't get to see her too often. Ah shit! Her parents are probably there."

"You have a girlfriend?" Omi asked with a quirked eyebrow as the three of them walked towards the school.

"Well... it's complicated. Since it's long distance, things don't go so smoothly," Jinpei admitted. "Plus, her parents hate my guts."

"What happened?" Omi asked, following Jinpei into a secluded corner corner of the library. 

"Just a lot of fights and stupid things I used to do. Also, Jun keeps nagging about how I'm too young to have a steady girlfriend. All because she screwed it up with her boyfriend." Jinpei made an aggravated wave, he rambled at some of the most inconvenient times. "Listen, just make an excuse, and I'll get to class as soon as I can." Omi looked skeptical to Jinpei's pleas. "Haven't you ever had a girlfriend?"

Omi's skin flush slightly. "Yes... sort of. Twice, but nothing really worked out."

"Well, I really want this to work things out with Julie. I've known her for a pretty long time. Now that I've gotten rid of my obligation, I can actually clean things up and date her officially," Jinpei said. Omi's sudden awkwardness made Jinpei curious. Girls certainly seemed to like Omi, but he tended to shy away from asking them out.

Omi's stormy expression lessened and changed to sympathy. "Okay, I'll cover. Come on, Ivan."

After the other two were gone, Jinpei dialed Julie's cell phone and waited. He stilled his breath and hoped she was away from her parents. "Jinpei?"

"Julie, I'm glad you could talk. I've got big news."

"I can't talk long. I'm about to go to dinner with my mother. Where were you?"

"I'm sorry about that, but I've left Jun's place."

A few long minutes of silence, then Julie asked, "So you ran away? Where to? I don't understand. Why?"

"Because, remember how we met? Well, I quit."

"You mean... your second job?" Jinpei knew she was being discrete for his sake: first job meant the Snack J, second job meant the Science Ninja Team.

"Yeah that. Now I can come see you for a while. I've saved up enough money from my first job to stay in France for a few weeks. Maybe even a little longer."

"Jinpei! You can't just leave Japan. What about school? Where are you going to live?"

"I'm staying with a friend for now, and I'm still in school. Come on, Julie. Let me visit you. I really want to see you again. It's been three months."

"You know my parents wouldn't be happy if you just showed up. And I don't think you're telling me everything. Are you in trouble again?"

"No! I just... tired of it... all the stuff that went with my second job. I want to get away from all it... just live like a normal person." Jinpei could hear Julie's mother in the background calling for her to come downstairs.

"It sounds like there are some things you need to work out there, with Jun and your brothers. Why don't you settle things with them first before you visit. I'll call you later on tonight. Okay?"

"But, Julie..."

"I'm really worried about you."

Before he could protest, the line went dead. Jinpei scowled at the phone before jamming it in his backpack. He paused briefly, seeing the tip of Joe's air gun. He sighed, suppressing the thought that he'd already made a huge mistake.

* * *

><p>"I don't feel so good," Ken Hidaka said, flexing his hand after he set a potted hydrangea down. He was getting too sweaty and too thirsty. The mark hadn't faded from his hand; it was stiff and sore. Youji just glared at him and went on shaping a wreath for a funeral. Ken looked over to where Aya was cleaning out the cooler.<p>

Aya's eyes would glance over to the back of his hand every few minutes or so. The icy, redheaded assassin would flex his hand and scowl. Ken assumed Aya wasn't feeling any better than he was, he was just better at hiding it than Ken.

The bell above the door rang and a tall man entered. He wore a plain brown suit and carried a briefcase. Youji, who was closest to the register, went to wait on him.

"I need to have fresh flowers deliver to my mother," he announced to Youji, who nodded with a furrowed brow.

"Name and address?"

"I'm afraid she's deceased, and I'm on my way to the UN building and will be staying there for the next two weeks with the ambassador of Hontworl, so no need for a record. Her name was Jenny Wade. She's buried at the cemetery two blocks down from there. You won't miss it. And, by the way, if you see any other flowers there, throw them in the trash. They'll have a Sicilian stench on them, I'm sure."

Ken picked up the guy's English accent along with a creepy snicker at some secret joke. He kept from rolling his eyes and got back to potting hydrangeas.

"We'll be happy to fill your order," Youji said, getting a pencil and a pad. "What would you like?"

"What are those over there?" the customer asked, pointing to something at the back of the store. Ken caught the gesture out of the corner of his eye and looked to the back of the store where the racks had some rather expensive arrangements on display. "The large one in the center with lots of blue."

"That's one of our best. Would you like it delivered this afternoon? Five hundred and fifty, please," Youji said, professionally ignoring the man's strange manner. Ken went back to potting, grateful he didn't have to deal with customers today.

"Of course. Here." Ken heard the register jangle and the rustle of money being exchanged.

Youji's sudden gasp of pain and shout jarred Ken. He and Aya scrambled over to Youji as the door slammed, jangling the bell. He was kneeling on the floor behind the register while grasping his left shoulder. The store was empty now.

"Where did he get you?" Ken asked.

"My left shoulder. He was quick, just one tap, and gone," Youji said. There was the smallest tear through Youji's shirt and a small trickle of blood. "And you can call me an ass, guys. You're right! I'm back to thinking there really is something fishy! I just didn't think Schwarz, Schreient, or any of those nut cases would find us so soon. This is a new town."

"I think we need to pay the UN building a visit and find out who these people are. This isn't Schwarz or Schreient's style," Ken said after he helped Youji to his feet.

"Tonight the three of us will go," Aya confirmed. "We need to make sure Omi stays away. They'll target him, too."

* * *

><p>"I'll make myself clear on this. We'll need to work together on this assignment, or we'll fail," Crawford said to the two assassin groups sitting around the conference table. He had rented a private conference room in a posh hotel in downtown Utoland City. It was the same hotel Takatori was campaigning from, so it was convenient.<p>

"The Takotoris are depending on us to fulfill this mission. There are nine cyborgs and eight of us. The odds will be in our favor because they don't know anything about either of our groups," Crawford continued.

"I'm still not clear on why you asked for us, Crawford. After all, Schwarz has pride. I thought the tough, and as you call yourselves, talented men of Schwarz could handle something like this," Hell mocked with a devious smirk as she crossed her shapely legs, her skirt a little too short for a proper business meeting.

Schuldig couldn't help but note she had it in her head she'd use some sex appeal to throw Crawford off his game. Schön had the same plan in mind, only her blouse was also a little too low cut for professional dress. Schuldig smiled and openly leered at the two women; he knew they'd have better luck seducing the marble statues in front of the hotel then Brad Crawford. He was in a single-minded rut, lately, with the idea of catching the Double Zero Cyborgs.

_:Hell is enjoying this too much. She think she has you over a barrel, Brad,:_ Schuldig projected into Crawford's mind.

_:Filthy whores! They defile us!:_ Farfarello's mind screamed out over the telepathic link Schuldig had created between the Schwarz members. Nagi glowered over at the one-eye assassin, but Farfarello gave him malevolent smile. Farfarello didn't like Nagi flirting with the bubbly, teenage girl across the table either.

_:Yes, but we need them, or 001 will sense our moves. The ladies aren't psychic like us, so we can use them to move in closer. Let her gloat, for now.:_ Schuldig's mind picked up Crawford's clear thoughts.

Crawford gave Nagi a brief, firm pat on his shoulder before moving to the lectern at the front of the room. It was a reminder to the young man where his loyalties should be, but Schuldig knew it was really unnecessary. Nagi could be as single-mind as Crawford, sometimes.

Crawford turned to Hell and explained, "These cyborgs have very special abilities. I would think, for Masafumi's sake, you would jump at the unique opportunity to bring him a gift of technology."

"This had better be worth our while, Crawford. Masafumi is getting tired of your games," Schön blurted out with a glare. Her ugly temper soured her good looks in Schuldig's opinion. Crawford smiled at her. For her bluster, they knew she was the easiest to manipulate of the four women.

"So let's get down to business? Then you can decided if it's worth your while. Schuldig and Farfarello have gathered detailed information on each target. I think things will become clear to you."

"Takatori wants this done quickly and with minimal fuss, and Masafumi agrees the cyborgs will be useful for his research. That's why we've agreed to this alliance. I just want things to be clear, this is not a friendly, long term arrangement," Hell explained, fingering the manila folder in front of her. The folder was labeled 'Cyborg 002.' Clipped to the front were two photos.

Schuldig smirked as she examined the first mug shot styled photo of a redheaded, pointy-nosed eighteen year old. He could read her incredulous thoughts, also her greed at gaining an advantage for Masafumi. The next photo she looked at was of the same young man flying through the air dressed in a scarlet and gold uniform. "What is this, anyway? Is this photo doctored?"

"No. That young man can fly with his cybernetic enhancements. I want you to study him and make him your special project. Everyone take few minutes to look over your folders and ask questions if you have any," Crawford said, pushing his glasses up higher on his nose.

"Oh goody-goody! This one breaths fire like a dragon. Tot will catch him for Daddy!" Tot squealed in delight. "Cyborg 006 is a very bad, bad man!"

"So I get the _Deutscher_ with the machine gun hand, hun?" Schuldig asked and laughed. "It'll be good to talk to a fellow German, but I don't think I'll be talking with him too much."

_:I figured that would suit you rather than chasing around 001,:_ Crawford thought.

_:He has some demons from his past that will make him a fun toy,:_ Schuldig confirmed.

"A shape changing actor?" Schön asked, looking at her Cyborg 007 folder. "Sounds like a fun date."

"They're all are clever. Don't underestimate any of them," Crawford ordered.

"Tot and I can work together on this," Nagi said standing. He took his folder labeled 'Cyborg 005.' A photo of a large, extremely strong American Indian was clipped to the front of the folder. Schuldig gave a slight snicker imaging the frail telekinetic facing off with his target. Nagi would demolish that cyborg with out raising a finger. "Please come with me, Miss Tot, and we'll make plans."

"Oh! That sounds like fun. We never get to play anymore," Tot squealed, clasping her hands. She ran out after the somber telekinetic boy.

"I think we should be working together, too," Schuldig said turning towards Hell, not hiding his gloating. He knew how much the women of Schreient despised him, in particular.

"What?" Hell snapped, her expression betrayed her dread.

"You see, your target and mine are lovers."

"But isn't your target a man? You didn't say _Deutscher_?" She glanced over at Schuldig's folder, looking confused for half a second. She then sighed and worked up a hostile expression. "I can handle this... teenager... just fine, with no help from you. You worry about your problem."

"Yes, but I think it could be more fun my way. You see, there are several complications we can exploit between our two targets. Like age difference, cultural differences... plus mine was married a long time ago... and it crops up to cause all sorts of interesting arguments."

Schuldig could see the bright woman was now intrigued. She nodded and put on her reading glasses. "Fine. This should be real fun, but what will you be doing, Crawford?" Hell asked.

"I'll be neutralizing Cyborg 009. He's the most dangerous with his acceleration device. However, not even he can out run the future. And that will leave me working with Miss Neu, since he and Cyborg 003 are in a relationship as well."

The stoic woman behind mirrored sunglasses nodded her assent and closed her folder on the one female cyborg. Schuldig noticed Neu was dressed a little more conservatively, but was still showing a fair amount of flesh. He also noticed there was still that strange buzzing noise when he push gently towards her mind. It was almost like seeing through fog for Schuldig. Whoever, or knowing Masafumi, whatever she was would stay a mystery, for now.

"Takatori is meeting with some new associates later this week and will let us know about the time table. In the meanwhile, we'll keep them under surveillance," Crawford said.

"If I know you, that's not necessarily the time table you'll follow," Hell accused. "Who are these other people Reiji is meeting with, anyway? Masafumi didn't tell us about them."

"Another organization is going to take care of Weiss for us."

"Weiss! You're joking," Schön said. "We should be taking care of them!"

"I never joke about Weiss. Besides, you swore to Masafumi you'd follow my lead, this time. We go for the Double Zero Cyborgs and then, only then, will we have our revenge on Weiss. It won't be by our hand, but their pain will come," Crawford said, flashing a patronizing smirk at the ex-super model.

"We won't disappoint Masafumi," Hell said, standing up.

"Good. We'll take you ladies to lunch," Crawford said, holding the door open for the remaining three Schreient women.

Hell paused at the door way and turned to Crawford. "Also, make sure Nagi doesn't distract Tot too much. It's annoying."

"Agreed."

* * *

><p>Ken didn't look away from his airplane's engine at the sound of the motorcycle pulling up behind him. He knew this was coming, and he was surprised Jun hadn't shown up before now. He wiped his hands on his coveralls and schooled his expression away from annoyance.<p>

He turned around and didn't quite look Jun eye-to-eye, but he didn't miss her puffy eyes and the grim set of her chin. She crossed her arms and sighed; she was about launch into the same lecture she'd been giving him for years, but he wasn't in the mood for it.

"I assume this is going to be about Jinpei?" Ken asked, crossing his own arms as well.

"Why didn't you stop him, Ken?" Her voice was deadpan, he expected more anger in it. That struck a guilty cord inside Ken, it reminded him of how she sounded for a whole month after he broke up with her.

"He needs time to clear his head and decide what he wants to do. Let him blow off some steam. He's staying over with one of his friends, so it's not like he's run off to France or something stupid."

"You don't sound concerned!" she snapped with a fist jerked upwards. Now she was getting angry.

"I knew something like this was coming. Jinpei's been antsy for a while. He needed to move out of your place a while ago and stay with Dr. Nambu or Ryu. Even Joe's trailer would be better for him now than the Snack J."

"Or you! You're right, he needs more of a regular male influence in his life. It really hit me this morning what you guys were trying to tell me for a while." Her shoulders slumped as she dropped her fist. Her head sunk a little, too. "I was too stingy. I wanted to have him around as company rather than insisting he leave. Jinpei said he didn't want to leave me alone after you stopped dating me, but how does a fourteen year old really know what's best for him? He would have felt guilty staying with you, so he stayed at the Snack J, and now he's boiling over with so much confusion. I've failed him." She looked up at Ken with a fire he hadn't seen in a while. "But I wasn't the only one."

"I know. I should have given him more guidance. I'm responsible, too. I let some of my own problems get in the way of my responsibilities to him, personally, not just as the leader of the Science Ninja Team. I do owe him, and you, an apology for that."

"He looks up to you so much. It's not too late. You could have him move here." Ken felt a jolt at Jun's suggestion. His throat tightened as his mind struggled with making a plausible excuse. Jun's brow furrowed. "Why not?"

"I just don't think it would work out," Ken muttered before turning back to his plane's engine.

"Is it because of me? Our break up?" Jun asked gently.

"No," Ken said quickly.

"Or is it this business with Donald?"

"Some."

"Your father, perhaps?"

Rather than snap at her, he turned around and nodded slightly. After all, he promised after their break up he'd be more honest with her. "It's a lot of different things working on me. I do think it may not be a bad idea for him to stay with one of us. Maybe Ryu or Joe?"

"Ryu is too busy with his sick father and Joe is never home long enough. You shouldn't run from having Jinpei around."

"There is something he doesn't know about me, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Jun was silent for several long seconds. "You know, Jinpei would stop trying to get us back together if you just told him the truth. Joe and Ryu know. How do you think Jinpei's going to feel when he's the last to know. Besides, you may want to start seeing someone at some point. You won't want to ambush Jinpei like that. You about gave it away with Prince Fizel on our last mission. Jinpei will put it together eventually."

"I know, and I'll tell him. In my own time. He needs to cool off, first. Once he's settled, and we catch Donald, I promise I'll tell him."

"Good," Jun said, suddenly looking relieved. Ken heard her cell phone ring. She took it from her jacket and checked the number. "Well, it looks like you're going to get the chance to be a good role model for Jinpei a little sooner than that. It's his school, and I don't think it's a good idea I go down there."

"Sure. I'll go handle it. Better me, than Doctor Nambu."

To be continued.


	8. Chapter 8

Part Eight:

"Father," Ivan said softly, which caused Omi and Jinpei to look over at him with raised eyebrows. They were in the middle of biology; the teacher was droning about the dissection equipment laid out in front of each student. Omi watched Ivan's hand reach for the shinny scalpel.

"Are you okay?" Omi asked, noticing Ivan's glazed over expression.

"Father..." Ivan murmured, touching the tip of the blade. His trance broke and he jerked his fingers away.

"Ivan, are you okay?" Omi asked with wide eyes.

"Excuse me! You three need to come with me," Principle Katigari called from the doorway with a quick hand wave at Omi's table.

"Great," Jinpei whispered. "Wonder what he wants? Probably that punk Aki... again."

"Don't worry about it, Jinpei," Omi said. "We'll tell him Aki was picking on Ivan... again."

"Now!" Katigari snapped. They scrambled out of their seats and followed the balding man down the hallway. Jinpei gave the back of the man's head a spiteful expression as they trailed behind.

They arrived at the Principle's office. Omi was surprised to see Aya Fujimiya seated on a sofa in between Ken Washio and Joe Shimamura. All three wore sour expressions and glowered at their respective teenage teammates.

"You three boys sit there," the Principle said, flinging his hand towards a set of folding chairs. "I've had to call your guardians because of the constant fighting you've been doing with Aki. He told me how the three of you picked on him yesterday."

"What about what he did to Ivan?" Jinpei asked.

"He told me that Ivan pushed him down. Then you and Omi proceeded to kick him," Katigari said.

"That's a lie," Omi said. "Aki shoved Ivan down. Jinpei shoved him away from Ivan. Aki was about to punch Jinpei! He was only defending himself."

"I believe Aki. He's credible. You three will apologize or spend three days of in-school suspension for this," Katigari huffed.

"With all due respect, sir, that's not fair," Joe Shimamura said, leaning forward. "Ivan wouldn't do anything like that."

"Let's face it, he was persuaded by these two bullies to attack another student," Katigari said, looking down his nose at Joe.

"It's not in Omi's nature to pick on someone weaker than him. That kid is the liar here, not Omi," Aya said coolly with crossed arms. Omi was stunned at Aya saying more than two sentences in a row, but he knew Aya would support him.

"Look, Fujimiya-san, I understand there is no father in the home, am I right? Fatherless children tend to have troubles adjusting," Principle Katigari said, voice dripping in false sympathy. A hard anguish struck Omi's chest at the word 'fatherless.' It was very painful. Rejection, doubt, and fear crushed his thoughts.

"He's very reliable and a good student. I've worked with him for over a year, he's never been trouble to anyone," Aya said. Omi felt a flutter of acceptance. He gave Aya a weak smile that wasn't returned. "Let's cut to the chase. No matter what the three of us say, you've made up your mind to punish these boys."

"Just the apology will do. I'd suggest you have a long conversation with your co-worker about keeping his nose clean. I would hate to see such a bright boy end up with a record like Nambu's.

"And, Washio-san, I suggest you have a long conversations with your adoptive brother and let him know he's on his last leg," Katigari sneered towards Ken. Omi glanced over to towards Jinpei's 'big brother'; he was slumped forward with his elbows on his knees. His eyes were firmly fixed to the ground.

"Can the boys go back to class after we talk with them?" Ken finally asked.

"Yes," Principle Katigari said, waving the six of them out. Omi felt sick to his stomach. This was the first time he had gotten in trouble at school. What was worse, it wasn't his fault or his friends' fault either.

"I'm so sorry, Aya," he started. The redheaded assassin pulled him away from the others and towards a watering fountain. Omi was disturbed to see Aya gulping down the water as if he were dehydrated. Aya was also sweating profusely. "What's wrong? Aya? Are you okay?"

"No. Someone came in and hurt Youji this morning the same way Ken and I were. We're all feeling strange," Aya said, handing him a piece of paper. "We're going to the UN building to do some snooping. Don't tell Manx."

"Is Youji okay? I'll come with you." He was very worried when he noticed black circles under Aya's eyes.

"No. We don't want you to get poisoned or anything else. Don't come home and don't call us. Stay in school until then and go stay with one of your friends. It's probably the safest place for you," Aya ordered.

"But I can't leave you guys alone. You three are the only family I have," Omi whispered. Aya grabbed his shoulder in a bruising grip and slightly shook him.

"Don't come near us until we call. Go stay with one of your friends tonight and see what you can find on the Internet. I will call you," Aya snapped.

"Okay," Omi whispered as Aya left down the locker lined hallway. Omi looked down at the piece of paper. It was an order slip in Youji's hand writing. It had the name Jenny Wade on it with the address of a cemetery on the same street as the UN building.

* * *

><p>"Why did you come?" Jinpei asked Ken after Aya had walked off with Omi; Joe had already tugged Ivan over to a corner, no doubt to berate him as well.<p>

"Because you needed me," Ken said simply. Jinpei wasn't used to seeing Eagle Ken appear so tired and worried. He wondered if it was the toll from the Hypersuit, or if it was something else.

"I guess you're pretty disappointed in me... again," Jinpei said in a half-hearted confrontation.

"No, I'm disappointed in myself. I failed you, and I talked to Jun about it earlier. If I would have been less absorbed, I would have insisted she send you to live with me or Joe three years ago. You do need a stronger male influence in your life. I think you've been acting out over the past year because you wanted my attention. I'm sorry I haven't given it to you," Ken said with a wan expression. "It's not too late. You don't have to come back to the team, but I want you to come and live with me out at the airfield."

"Did Jun put you up to it?" Jinpei asked.

"No."

"Then Joe did?"

"He said I should take you in. I disagreed and said you needed space. If it's any consolation, we had another one of our man-to-man talks behind the Snack J over it," Ken said. Jinpei smiled brightly noticing Ken's tell-tale bruises for the first time. His school trouble had distracted him from the details.

"That's cool and everything, but you're right. I'll call you next week and let you know. I want to think about it first," Jinpei said, cramming his hands in his pockets. He stared at the floor to avoid looking at Ken's haggard face.

It would crush Jinpei to move in with Ken only to watch him die suddenly on a mission. He'd had that experience with Joe, and it was all too painful. There was also a part of him that wanted to pack up for the airfield all the more at seeing Ken worn out.

"I'm sorry I didn't have a better father figure, Jin. Maybe I could have helped you more," Ken said, leaving Jinpei alone in the hallway. Jinpei shook his head numbly remembering the Red Specter and the hellish times that man had put Ken through. Jinpei gave a quick punch at the wall before marching back towards class. All of his residual anger at Ken shifted towards the deceased Red Specter.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay, Ivan?" Joe asked, putting a hand on the Russian boy's shoulder after Jinpei stormed passed them.<p>

_:Yes, 009. But I don't understand why people lie. Omi told the truth, but we are being punished anyway. Why did that happen?:_

"Sometimes people do nasty things to other people," Joe whispered, looking around.

_:But I really don't understand why he wanted to hurt me, 009. He deserves to hurt like all of us.:_ Ivan thought into Joe's head.

"That kid was just mean. Don't worry about him, 001," Joe said. He had to admit he was little disturbed by the harsh, vengeful tone of Ivan's thoughts; he had never heard that from Ivan before.

_:Not him. My father. I was thinking about him.:_ Ivan thought.

Joe scrutinized Ivan's expression; he had never once heard a statement come from the coolly, analytical Russian cyborg about Dr. Gamo.Joe sighed and shook his head, feeling a little relieved. Joe could understand being angry at Gamo better than Ivan being overly hurt by a classmate.

"I wish I could tell you, Ivan. Greed, I guess, but I thought you understood that more than any of us. Some evil people are still beyond my understanding, even after all this time," Joe replied.

"Thank you, Joe, for coming to defend me. I better go back to class."

Joe about called Ivan back, but he let him go back to class. He would have to take Dr. Gilmore aside and ask him about Ivan's father. He would have to avoid telling Frances, though. He didn't want her to worry any more than she already was.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Takatori, why don't you tell us the progress you've made?" Scar asked. The Japanese crime lord looked up from his whiskey and looked across the conference table at the man in the black, skeletal mask.<p>

"My men and women are ready to move. Oh, my man Crawford told me that baby is now a teenager," Takatori said. "This is his picture."

Takatori slid the photo of a thin teenager with heterochromatic eyes and light brown hair across the table. Scar took the photo and studied it. He nodded and gave a maniacal chuckle.

"Yes, one blue eye, one brown eye. Gilmore was brilliant; too bad he betrayed us," Scar said.

"Crawford and his crew are ready. Just say the word," Takatori said.

"How about your project, Count Egobossler?" Scar asked.

"Three of the four Weiss assassins have been tagged. The fourth one seems to have an odd schedule. We should have him by the end of next week, Mr. Takatori," Count Egobossler said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair.

"Which one?" Takatori asked with narrowed eyes.

"The youngest one. The Tsukiyono boy," the Count replied.

"I want your men to kill him outright. Don't worry about bringing him here, but make sure he's dead. The other three, once they're here, will help me get to Kritiker," Takatori said before sipping his whiskey. "By the way, how are you kidnapping the assassins?"

"One of my predecessors invented a large flower that was genetically designed to attack and kill women, a monster flower if you will. Donald Wade refined the flowers to seek only the genetic code of each assassin we've tagged and then store them rather than digest them. Brilliant chemist, and thank your men for delivering him back to our organization," Count Egobossler said. "If you wish for me to kill the boy, I'll be happy to handle that for you as well, Mr. Takatori," Count Egobossler said with a smile and steepled fingers.

"You'll be happy to hear that the ISO building has been successfully infiltrated by Cyborg 0012. She'll wait until she knows the Science Ninja Team is in the building. Then she'll entrap them. From there, my operatives will bring them to us," Scar said.

"Donald Wade's blossoms will be read in a thirty-nine hours," Count Egobossler said.

"Good. Will your people be ready, Mr. Takatori?" Scar asked. The man nodded. "On Saturday evening we'll spring our trap. They'll never know what hit them," Scar said.

* * *

><p>"Great! Now my whole weekend is ruined. Some Friday," Jinpei groused as they stood in front of the Utoland City High School.<p>

_:007 said he was on his way to pick us up.:_ Ivan thought over to Jinpei who had been quiet the rest of the day. _:Omi, are you sick? Your thoughts are so jumbled.:_

Jinpei looked over to where Omi sat on a low brick wall with worried eyes. They went and sat on either side of the assassin and looked at him expectantly.

"Jinpei, I need to get to a computer café that I can hack from. Do you know any place like that?" Omi asked.

"Are you kidding me? I've got just the thing. Do you think Great Britain will drop us in one of Utoland City's more colorful districts?" Jinpei asked Ivan.

_:He will.: _Ivan thought.

"Thanks, Jinpei. Thanks, Ivan," Omi said. Minutes later a white sedan pulled up with the bald,  
>Shakespearian actor.<p>

"Hello, boys. Ready to go?" GB greeted them as they got into the car. "We didn't know you were being bullied, Ivan. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Want... to... go where... Jinpei says," Ivan said, sitting next to GB.

"What? Wait a minute? Why?" GB asked, looking around at the three boys in confusion.

"Please, Mr. Britain. It'd mean a lot. We just want to go to a computer café and play some video games for some stress relief. It's been a really hard day," Jinpei pleaded.

"We won't be long. We promise," Omi said.

_:If you don't take them where they want to go, 007, I'll be forced to hypnotize you and make you take them where they want to go.: _Ivan threatened, only projecting the thought into GB's mind. The Russian cyborg's blue eye started to glow faintly. GB's eyes grew wide with fear and then narrowed in aggravation after he swirled around to face the younger looking cyborg.

"Hey! You wouldn't do that to me! That's a rotten threat, 001," GB shouted. He froze and turned to where Jinpei and Omi were giving them baffled looks from the backseat. "I mean, Ivan... ha... ha... ha... he..." GB turned around in his seat and started the car around.

"Bloody hell. Should have kept you a baby, you big trouble maker," GB mumbled just loud enough under his breath so Ivan could hear. Of course his thoughts were a bunch of swear words describing the situation of being trapped as three teenagers' chauffeur.

* * *

><p>"This dodgy looking place? I don't think so," the British cyborg said, parking behind a decaying building with a lot of wild looking teenagers. They loitered around with skateboards and bikes.<p>

"It's not bad," Jinpei protested. "Come on in and you can get a screwdriver to die for."

"I know I shouldn't be accepting alcoholic drinks from minors, and such, but... I haven't had one of those in an age," GB said. Jinpei shot Ivan a lopsided grin. Ivan had already telepathically told Jinpei about GB's over fondness for alcohol.

The four of them went in. Jinpei greeted an occasional person as they made their way around inside. The rooms were littered with computers sitting on the ground and crammed on tables with teenagers draped around them. Wires sprang from everywhere and snaked around all over the worn hardwood floor.

The three of them followed Jinpei to a dingy kitchen turned coffee bar. A man slouched on a chair was deep into his newspaper. He looked up with lazy, bloodshot eyes at their approach.

"What do you know, Jinpei?" the man asked.

"Nothing much. I need a private room and a secure machine," Jinpei said. The man tossed him a key. "Oh... can you fix a screwdriver for him?" Jinpei asked, hitching his thumb towards GB.

"How nice of you to bring your grandpa out, Jinpei," the man said with a smirk as he fetched vodka and orange-juice from a beat up refrigerator.

"Hey! I'm not his grandpa!" GB shouted.

"No, he's his grandpa," Jinpei said, jerking his head towards Ivan. "Come on, guys."

GB was seething as the three teenagers ran up a set of stairs. He turned at the rustle of the newspaper. His eyes fixed on the alcoholic beverage. He sighed and sat on a barstool by the man.

"They'll be a while. You want the sport's section?" the impromptu bartender asked.

"Actually the arts and entertainment section is more to my liking," GB said.

* * *

><p>They entered a small, grimy bedroom at the top of the stairs. Jinpei locked the door back and flung his hand at the computer on a rickety card table.<p>

"Help yourself, Omi," Jinpei said. The ninja boy flopped on the mattress with loud squeak from the box spring. "You need help? I'm pretty good hacker too, you know."

"I know, but I just need to do this for my own peace of mind. I hope it's nothing. Please don't worry about me. Use my laptop and play some games or something. The password is 'Freesia'," Omi said. Jinpei fished in the backpack and waved Ivan over.

"You play some of these, Ivan?" Jinpei asked after they slid to the floor and huddled around Omi's laptop.

"Chess," Ivan said.

"Big Brother Ken and I used to play that all the time," Jinpei said with a somber tone. "Sure. Let's play."

After two hours Omi sat up straight and sighed. He looked over to Jinpei and Ivan who were concentrating over his laptop.

"Are you guys ready? I'm finished for now. Didn't find a darn thing," Omi said.

"Sure. I'm tired of getting my butt kicked by Ivan the Terrible over here," Jinpei groused. "I think we need to level the playing field and introduce him to a Playstation."

"I like that! Ivan the Terrible," Omi said after laughing at the offhand nickname.

_:Ivan IV Vasilyevich_? _The 16__th__ century Russian ruler who was know for his strictness, intelligence, and murderous rages? Should I be insulted or complimented?: _

"Great idea about the Playstation. I could use some of that kind of stress relief," Omi said, slumping in his chair.

"You found everything?" Jinpei asked.

"We think that Schwarz has infiltrated into the UN building and found us, but I couldn't find anything related to those four sick people. I did find out that they are in Utoland City, but they haven't made a move towards us," Omi said. "Don't worry about it. I don't want to spread my problems around. Let's just go have some fun. It's Friday night and Aya told me not to come back home."

"Great! Pizza and all night video games. That's what I'm talking about," Jinpei said.

_:Are you sure that you don't need our help?:_ Ivan thought.

"I'll be better when Aya calls me with some more information. I don't want you guys to worry, too," Omi said as they left. He checked his cell phone, but there were no messages. He glanced at Youji's sales receipt and jambed it in his pocket; it had rested beside the keyboard. There was no information about a woman named Jenny Wade at all, either. She was a total mystery.

* * *

><p>Ivan's room looked more like a teenager's room, now, than an 18th century boudoir. Ivan had moved a television in his bedroom so they could hook up Jinpei's Playstation. Out of his flower delivery tip money, Omi ordered and paid for enough pizzas for the cyborgs and elderly doctors as well themselves. Chang thanked Omi profusely for giving him the night off.<p>

Ivan, Omi, and Jinpei took their pizzas upstairs, closed the door, and indulged their video gaming hobby like a normal set of teenage boys. They occasionally talked about light and fun things they had experienced with their various teams.

All of them intentionally stayed away from painful topics and memories. By midnight, Omi asked to borrow pajamas. Ivan and he changed into pajamas while Jinpei changed into a blue tee-shirt and plaid boxers.

"Hey, Jinpei. What is that anyway?" Omi asked, noticing the bizarre gun tucked in the back of his waistband.

"It's a special air gun. It has a lot of tricks. I bet you'd be good at using it." Jinpei said, sitting up from the place he was sprawled out on his stomach. Jinpei handed it to Omi. Omi hefted the gun and smiled.

"This is great. I really, really like this weapon. Too bad I can't try it now," Omi said.

"Tomorrow we'll go play, and I'll teach you how to use it. I first want to go out on the water, some. I haven't been out on a boat since Ryu's dad got sick," Jinpei said, taking it back from Omi and tucking it away. "Speaking of which, I'm going to turn in. I guess I'm more tired than I thought. Hey, Terrible, you don't mind if I crash on your bed again?"

_:No. I'm still not close to sleepy.:_

"Unless you want to sleep up here, Omi? I can sleep on that sofa or something," Jinpei offered.

"No. Go ahead. I'm not sleepy either," Omi said. Jinpei dove into Ivan's bed, rolled over, and fell fast asleep. When Omi was certain that Jinpei was asleep, he paused the game and looked into Ivan's color mismatched eyes.

_:Can you hear me?:_ Omi thought with heavy concentration.

_:You don't have to strain so hard. I've been listing into your mind the whole time. I was... worried. You seemed so sad this afternoon.:_ Ivan thought.

_:I was worried about you too. That trance you went into was strange.:_

_ :My first conscious memory is of my father's scalpel after he finished performing his experiment on me. I can remember his face as he picked me up. My mother came into the room next. All I wanted was her to hold me. She grabbed me from my father's arms and she was going to take me away from him. She fought with him and then he picked up a wrench. He beat her to death when she tried to leave with me. All I remember after that was him using me as a bargaining chip in exchange for joining the Black Ghost organization: _Ivan thought.

_:I'm so sorry. He was a sick monster. Some fathers are living, breathing monsters.:_ Omi thought as his vision blurred with tears.

_:Like your father?:_

_ :Yes. Like my father... my whole family. That's why I depend on my team so much. They all let me know I'm not a monster like my birth family, the Takatoris.:_ Omi thought. Ivan nodded.

_:You were kidnapped too. Your father wasn't going to pay a ransom to save you because he wanted you dead. Those kidnappers were going to kill you. That's why my story has you feeling such pain.:_ Ivan thought.

_:That's why I work so hard with the Weiss.:_ Omi thought. _:Please don't tell Jinpei. He may not understand all the things I've been through and the decisions I've made. Choosing to be an assassin was harder than he thinks. It's not something that's glamorous..:_ Omi shivered as he drew his knees up to his chin.

_:I understand why you think you don't want him to know everything about your kidnapping, but you're wrong. You've misjudged him like I did when I first met him. He's a very strong, compassionate friend. I think he'll understand you more than you think.: _Ivan thought.

_ :I know. It's just that I want us to become a little better friends. It's easier to talk to about the __kidnapping because I know I can't hide it anyway, and you don't seem to have the ability to judge a person. For a long time I blocked out so many details about the kidnapping, but I seem to remember more lately. Those men were so sadistic... I wish sometimes I could forget it all over again.: _Omi thought, giving Ivan an abashed gaze._ :Someone needs to stop people like our fathers... and those men who kidnapped me. Those evil beasts need to be denied their tomorrow.:_

_ :I want to protect the others better. I can't do it if I'm sleeping all the time. I guess we are all so much alike. Jinpei has his own story, you know. He should tell it to you.: _Ivan thought. _:I can sense you're tired. The sofa over there is not comfortable.:_

_ :That's okay. I think I could sleep in a gravel pit. Wake me up if my cell phone rings.:_

* * *

><p>"I don't see anything here. How are you doing, Balinese?" Ken Hidaka whispered into his radio as he glanced around the dim room set aside for Hontworl ambassadors. It was a large conference room with computers draped in plastic. Everything was dust covered from years of neglect.<p>

"Nothing here, Siberian," Youji's voice whispered over his ear piece. "I've found some files on the UN's main computer about Hontworl, but Bombay will have to crack them. I'll be finished in fifteen minutes."

"Siberian, meet me in the personal suites for the Hontworl dignitaries," Aya's voice whispered over Ken's ear piece.

"Sure thing," Ken whispered and went to leave the unused room. He noticed the guest book on the podium next to the door; the signatures stopped five years ago. His aqua colored eyes scanned the last name; it caused him to gasp. It was listed as 'Dr. Noboru Nambu of the International Science Organization.'

"Get a move on, Siberian," Aya's irritable voice hissed over the ear piece.

"Please tell me you didn't send Bombay to stay with his friends, Abyssinian," Ken murmured as he jammed the guest book in his brown leather jacket.

"I did," Aya replied.

"I think that one of his friends could be very dangerous and maybe involved with what's going on with us," Ken explained as he snuck out into the dim hallway and moved towards Aya.

To be continued.


	9. Chapter 9

Part Nine:

"Hello?" Ivan answered Omi's cell phone.

"This is Youji. Put Omi on now!"

"He... is sleeping," Ivan said, looking over to the sofa.

"Put him on now!" Youji shouted. Ivan could hear the roar of an engine in the background.

"As you... wish," Ivan said. He went over and shook Omi's shoulder. The young assassin sat up with a sleepy smile and took his phone.

"Hello?" he murmured through a yawn.

"Omi, that Nambu kid is into something! I'm coming to pick you up. Where are you at?" Youji asked loud enough for Ivan to hear.

"What are you taking about?" Omi asked, glancing over at Jinpei's sleeping form.

"I'll explain it when I get there! Tell me where you are," Youji snapped again.

"I'm at Ivan's. It's Number 23 Yoma Square," Omi replied.

"Watch yourself," Youji warned and then the connection died. Omi looked over at Ivan.

"What's going on?" Jinpei asked, stirring at all the commotion.

"Youji just went nuts on the phone and said something about you being trouble," Omi said with a baffled look.

"I am a trouble maker, but I couldn't of done anything," Jinpei protested.

"We'll see what's upsetting him and get back to sleep. I'll tell you a little something. They went snooping around the UN building and they probably found something," Omi said, throwing his jacket over his borrowed pajamas.

"Dr Nambu has a lot of dealings over there. I'm listed as his ward so that may be what they found. The ISO is pretty careful about our records. No matter what, please don't give me away," Jinpei said darkly.

"Don't worry, Jin. I won't give you away. I promise," Omi said as tires screeched in front of the cyborgs' town home.

They leaped up and walked downstairs as an incessant pounding on the front door started. The cyborgs were all stirring; They followed the three teenagers to the front door.

Ivan opened the door. Youji was on the other side with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. What jarred Omi was the fact that Youji was still dressed in his long, navy coat used for assassinations.

"What is going on here?" Joe Shimamura asked, wrapping up in his yellow robe, Frances at his elbow.

"I'm picking up Omi," he said, giving Joe a challenging look over the top of his sunglasses.

"But I'm okay, Youji. We were all sleeping and..."

"Shut it! Roadster! Now," Youji shouted, pointing outside, his cigarette quivering between his lips.

"What is going on?" Omi asked. Youji grabbed his elbow and yanked him into the chilly outside. Omi knew Youji would assume they had privacy, but he knew that was a laugh around the cyborgs.

"Listen, the people who attacked us were associated with a small European country called

Hontworl. The sleepily little country was locked in some sort of trouble with Dr. Noboru Nambu, your friend's adoptive father. There is some sort of link there," Youji hissed, looking over his sunglasses with intensity burning in his emerald eyes. "Did you find something this afternoon?"

"No, Youji. I didn't... and Jinpei's adoptive father isn't into anything." Omi countered truthfully. "He's a famous scientist, so he's probably over there all the time. I would have noticed if there was something suspicious, don't you think?"

"No, I don't. What's with that kid, anyway? Ken said he had some clearance to get into a building guarded by the Utoland military. The ISO building? What's with that?" Youji asked.

"It's the International Science Organization, that's all. He was justing going to visit," Omi insisted.

"Don't lie. We're getting sicker by the day," Youji said. Omi was quite for a moment.

"Let me stay over, and I can get some information. There are some things I cannot tell you about right now, but soon. Just trust me," Omi pleaded. Youji sighed, flicked his cigarette away, and nodded.

"I've trusted you with my life before, I guess this isn't any different. Our problem is you being so close to a perceived threat. We really depend on you more than you know, Omi," Youji said; his words twisted Omi's stomach in to a knot.

They needed him, but most of all they were worried about him. Youji coughed slightly and said, "Here's what I downloaded from the UN building. See if you can't crack it." Youji handed him a silver disk.

"You can trust me," Omi said, tucking the disk away in his jacket pocket. Omi was stunned when Youji pulled him into a fierce hug.

Omi melted into Youji's embrace, relishing the tobacco odor as if it were the scent of a beloved older brother. Youji roughly shoved him back towards the townhouse. He watched Youji march back to his beloved Roadster. Omi jogged back inside as Youji peeled away into the night.

* * *

><p><em>:Well... it looks as if everything is going as planned.: <em>Schuldig telepathically projected to Crawford as he watched the blond assassin speed of into the night.

_:I'll contact Takatori. Be prepared to move at a moment's noticed.:_ Crawford thought back.

* * *

><p>"Donald Wade's flowers will be ready by tomorrow afternoon. They'll germinate at dusk," Count Egobossler said over the phone while he studied three test tubes with small, ruddy seeds floating in blue liquid. "Mr Crawford, please let me know if the situation changes. Scar said he gave the order for 0012 to strike at dusk tomorrow. According to what she reported to Scar, the Science Ninja Team will be meeting tomorrow evening to discuss what to do because one of their members quit. Plus, they're still looking for Wade. Things are lining up very well for tomorrow."<p>

"I'll keep in touch. The next time I call, I'll have good news for the Black Ghost organization," Crawford said.

"Excellent! By the way, Mr. Crawford, Sosai Z is very interested in talented men such as yourself. After this is over, I hope we can discuss opportunities within my organization," Count Egobossler said with a smile.

"My resume is unavailable, for now. Thank you for the consideration," Crawford said.

"We have plenty of room for all of Schwarz. Sleep on it." Egobossler hung up and picked up one of tubes. "It's time we delivered you to The House of Kittens Florists shop."

* * *

><p>"Jinpei, do you know anything about Hontworl?" Omi asked after the three of them were entrenched in Ivan's bedroom again. "Youji gave me this disk of information about Hontworl because he thinks they had something to do with all the weird things around the shop lately."<p>

"Yeah, do I ever! Don't worry with the disk because I know everything he has on there. It's a country Berg Katse worked out of. Six years ago they started all sorts of trouble around the world, even ecological disasters with advanced technology. We spent a lot of time bringing them down," Jinpei explained. Omi told Jinpei about the punctures and how his teammates were getting ill.

"What would Hontworl want with Weiss Kreuz? What's the connection?" Jinpei asked.

_:Something! I heard something in my mind! It's a rustling. Can you hear it?:_ Ivan thought, perking up. _:Just over the couple of weeks, I've felt a soft buzz. There it is again.:_

"We're not telepathic, Terrible. Maybe you're just tired," Jinpei asked.

_:Maybe I'm picking up things from a far off distance. I don't know.:_

"We need some rest. I'll let you look over everything they gave me tomorrow and maybe your fresh eyes can hit on something," Omi said.

"First, lets go boating. It'll help us think," Jinpei insisted.

* * *

><p>Jinpei knocked on the door of the humble, seaside house with the name 'Nakanishi' painted on the door. A few minutes later a fourteen year old boy answered the door with a bright smile.<p>

"Haven't seen you around lately," the boy greeted brightly.

"Well, my friends and I have been really busy. This is Omi and Ivan, by the way," Jinpei said with a grin and a wave of the hand towards the other boys. "Is your brother home, Sedji?"

"No. He's at his construction job today," Sedji said.

"How's your dad?" Jinpei asked, getting a slight frown.

"He's doing a little better. They're going to do the bypass next week," Sedji replied.

"I'm glad they're finally getting him in. I'll be keeping in touch about that," Jinpei said.

"Thanks. Do you and your friends want to come in for a late breakfast?" Sedji asked, nodding towards the other two boys standing on the porch.

"Thanks, but I was hoping I borrow a boat," Jinpei asked.

"Sure. You know where the stuff is. Help yourself," Sedji said.

"Later," Jinpei said, leading Ivan and Omi to the dock. He leaned over to them after making sure Sedji was inside the house. "Ryu tells his family he works a part-time construction job, but he'll actually be meeting with the team. He also works part-time as a bouncer at the Snack J, that's how Ryu's family thinks he met Jun and me. He doesn't like to fib to his family, but he knows they could be in danger if they knew."

"Brothers are nice to have," Omi said in a somber tone. He shivered at the memory of pulling a gun on Aya and Ken to protected one of his older bothers, Hirofumi. A pang of horror hit him at the thought of shooting Aya, Ken, or Youji. Things had changed so much for Omi and his relationships with his three teammates and his birth family.

The three of them prepared the boat and headed out to the Saruto Sea. Jinpei guided the boat far enough away from Utoland Island so it looked like a hazy gray smear on the horizon. Omi glanced at his watch and noticed that it was now 10:53 in the morning.

"Here we are," Jinpei announced before turning off the roaring engine.

"I feel guilty, Jin. I should be at a computer trying to figure out who's hurting my teammates," Omi said.

"Number one, you will be in danger like the rest of your teammates in Utoland City. I can't protect you as much without my bird-style. Out here on the sea you'll be safe. Number two, if you want me to think about Hontworl again, I've got to be in a peaceful place. Those weren't the best times for me. It was right before Joe died," Jinpei said.

"Wait a minute! Isn't your Joe alive?" Omi asked, recalling the uncanny man the first day at his new school.

"It's hard to explain, but he died and just showed up after a year. He won't talk about it with me, but I have overheard him say something about not quite making peace with his parents. I think he likes to pull legs and all. That's the most I really know. I don't really like to talk about it. That's why I wanted to come out here. Hey, Terrible, you won't rust or anything?"

_:No, Jinpei. I'm not built like Cyborg 008, but I can survive water.:_

"Cool. Just relax. Lets eat and soak up some sun. I thought cats were big sunbathers," Jinpei said.

The ninja teen dragged a cooler out to the middle of the boat. The three of them sat around the cooler. Each grabbed a sandwich and a soda. The three of them sprawled out on the floor in silence as the boat rocked them back and forth. "I know you're worried, but we'll figure it out. Tell me about everything that happened step-by-step."

Omi started his story slowly explaining what he had found out from Aya yesterday. Omi told Jinpei that Aya had given him a piece of paper with the name Jenny Wade on it. Jinpei bolted upright and gave the blond assassin a wide eyed look.

"What is it, Jin?" Omi asked shiver a little.

"Donald Wade was the guy I replaced on the Science Ninja Team. That was his mother's name. He went nuts and turned into a traitor. He was brilliant... into chemistry and biology. If he had something to do with this, Weiss has been poisoned or has some sort of virus right now and it won't be traceable. He was put away in an insane asylum by Dr. Nambu. He escaped a couple of weeks ago and the team is trying to find him," Jinpei said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I've got to let them know!" Omi shouted, fumbling for his phone.

"No! You'll just get them worried and then whatever it is will really hurt them. What we need to do is get to a computer. Also, I think I can find Donald Wade if we get back to land, but I can't figure out what Donald Wade would want with Weiss. It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe he's broke and the Takatoris hired him?" Omi said.

"But they would have had to break him out of the insane asylum knowing what he is. There would be no purpose in it otherwise, because Dr. Nambu has him recorded down as a petty embezzler formerly with the ISO. Would the Takatoris know about Sosai X, Berg Katse, and the Galactor?"

"No... Kritiker would have told us something that outrageous. No offense," Omi said.

_:Let's go back to Utoland City and figure it out. It's already 1:30. If we hurry, we can make it to your underground computer caf__é__ before 3:00,:_ Ivan thought out reasonably.

"Donald Wade is on the loose and attacking Weiss, I have to let Ken and Doctor Nambu know," Jinpei said as he cranked up the boat engine.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until 2:30 when the boys got to the shore and caught a taxi. Jinpei threw some of his last weekend's tip money at the cabby and gave him directions to the underground computer café. The three of them were silent; all of them mentally pleaded with the cabby to hurry. Finally, they arrived. Jinpei hurriedly got a key to a private room, which they all retreated to.<p>

"I can't believe that jerk got loose in the first place," Jinpei said, flopping in front of the borrowed computer. "Let's see if he still has a big, fat ego." Jinpei's fingers started to fly over the keyboard while Omi and Ivan hung over his shoulders.

"Bingo," Jinpei shouted. "Looks like Hontworl officials recorded that he was released to Count Egobossler's custody just a week ago. He had been petitioning Hontworl for political asylum for five years. Looks like they granted it to him finally, but why after all this time?"

_:Because this Count Egobossler needed him for some purpose. To harm Weiss Kreuz. But why would this ruler of an Eastern European country want to harm a Japanese assassins' group focused on Japanese crime lords? We need to figure that out.:_ Ivan thought.

"We also need to figure out what he did to Aya, Ken, and Youji. Do you know how to track him, Jin?" Omi asked.

"I'll try, but he's very slippery. Ken and Joe had some pretty violent run-ins with him, so they know him better than I do. I've got to hack into the ISO mainframe and... what the heck is this?" Jinpei said five seconds after the ISO mainframe was reached.

He jolted back when he saw an alluring woman on the monitor. Her mossy hair flowed down her shoulders. Her dark purple dress reminded him of something Victorian, but her eyes were pure black with no white whatsoever. She looked up from her chessboard and gave Jinpei a warm smile.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you into the ISO mainframe, Jinpei Nambu... last survivor of the Jupiter ninja clan massacre," the woman said in a refined tone.

"Who are you?" he shouted at the monitor.

"I am Cyborg 0012. It's my delight to capture your ex-teammates and give them to my master," she answered. Omi and Jinpei snapped their heads to Ivan who, for once, looked shocked.

"Can't be... 009, 004, 007... killed you... destroyed your... mansion... your body," Ivan said, getting closer to the monitor. "You... are... Madam Manma Yana... Should be buried... with dead... husband."

"I never had expected the pleasure of meeting you, Cyborg 001. The rumor is true. You are now in a teenage body which will increase your power. It won't matter because the Black Ghost will soon possess you and the other rebels again. I will have my revenge against 009, 004, and 007. I will see you serving the Black Ghost again. Your father is very angry at your willfulness, 001. It's time you gave in to the great destiny your father, the talented Dr. Gamo, has built you for," she said before she delicately lifted a tea cup to her lips. She sipped her tea as Jinpei noticed Ivan was starting to tremble.

"No. I will never do what he says again. He hurt me and killed my mother," Ivan said flatly. Jinpei was floored with Ivan's lack of stuttering, but he was sickened at the meaning of his Russian friend's words.

"Then you will be made to submit to the Black Ghost once again. There are plans in the works to ensure you will be without the rebels. Without them, you will have no choice except to beg your father for forgiveness and do as he bids you," she said with a deep frown that made her look stern, yet still lovely.

"You leave him alone, you sick woman!" Omi shouted out to Jinpei's surprise.

"Charming little boy. Too bad I don't have time for you three any longer. I must subdue the Science Ninja Team. Don't bother coming near my new body, the ISO building, Jinpei Nambu. I will only crush them in my entrails. I will then soak them in my sweet gastric juices and savor their screams. If I sense you trying to hack into my mind again, I will do the same to you."

The monitor went blank. The three boys stood around in a circle for a minute. Jinpei was the first to grab up his backpack. He lead his two friends downstairs.

"Wait, Jinpei," Omi shouted and grabbed the ninja boy's arm when they got to the street. He swirled to face Omi, not even bothering to hide his watering eyes. "I know how you feel. I feel the same way right now. We need to do this logically. Okay?"

Jinpei nodded relieved Omi and Ivan were with him. He couldn't imagine facing this alone. Yes, he was angry at his teammates and Dr. Nambu. He wanted to be on his own, but he knew he could never live with himself if they died while he sat around.

"Let's get to the flower shop. I'll tell them about Donald Wade, and then they can help us get your teammates back," Omi said with logic. "We're very good at what we do. I know we can get them away from that woman."

"You're right. I bet she won't know who you guys are ," Jinpei said.

_:Watch out!:_ Ivan's thought pounded in their heads as he flung them to the ground with his telekinesis. Jinpei rolled on the ground. He was shocked to see bolos wrap around Ivan's torso. They knocked him down in between he and Omi.

The only other person Jinpei knew who used bolos beside himself was Donald Wade. The tall man with chestnut hair stepped out into the dusk light. Jinpei noted Donald Wade was dressed in a tan suit and a light-brown, trench coat; thankfully, no imitation bird-style to worry about.

"You!" was the only word Jinpei was able to shout without a tirade of profanity.

"Yes, it's me. Not only did you steal my job, but my old computer hacking haunt; I shouldn't be surprised. That made you easy to find." Jinpei mentally kicked himself, Donald introduced him to this place years ago. He should have figured Donald would have come back to this place, too. "I see you're without your bird-style," Donald Wade gloated. "Decided to wise up and tell Nambu to shove it?"

"None of your business, you traitor," Jinpei said as he and Omi got to their feet and took up fighting stances. "And I don't need bird-style to kick your ass!"

"What did you do to my teammates?" Omi asked through clinched teeth.

"So you're the missing Takatori kid. How convenient for me," Donald said as he had a bolo swirling in each hand. He flung them clipping Omi's shoulder with a weight. Jinpei back flipped and caught the bolo around his ankle. He quickly grabbed it and flung it back at Donald Wade who dove into the long, pre-evening shadows.

Jinpei snatched Joe's air gun from the back of his surfing shorts and flung it to Omi. The blond assassin caught it and dodged behind an abandon car. Jinpei knew Omi was a much better shot, but wasn't as good at hand-to-hand combat as he was. Good chance Omi would use it wiser than he would.

"Omi! Don't touch any switches. It's all set to fire," Jinpei hissed from his position behind a brimming full trash can. There was no time to explain the intricacies of Condor Joe's air gun. He looked over to see Ivan had sat up and easy broken out of the bolo. He stood up and looked around to Jinpei's consternation. "Ivan! Get down!"

A pair of bolos swung through the air aimed at Ivan's neck. With a bright blue flash the bolos froze in midair and sunk to the ground.

"You are pathetic, Mr. Wade. I will not tolerate this," Ivan said in that same eerie, flat voice from earlier, no stutter.

"You truly are a freak, 001! They didn't lie about that. But, I came for one purpose," Donald called out from the shadows by the building.

_:He intends to kill Omi.:_ Ivan thought only towards Jinpei.

_ :Why is he trying to kill Omi?:_ Jinpei thought.

_ :Because Omi's father wants him dead and Mr. Wade was hired to kill him:_ Ivan thought back to Jinpei.

"Got someone new you're working for, Don?" Jinpei mocked, hoping to buy some time.

"You'll see soon enough," Donald Wade called out.

Jinpei watched a pair of bolos sail over his head. He rolled his eyes thinking how lame Donald was for not waiting for a good shot. He picked them up and rose to throw them. He realized too late it was a ploy so Donald could shoot him with a remote stunner. Jinpei fell backwards, struggling to breath.

Jinpei panicked not able to defend Omi. Ivan ran over knelt next to Jinpei, while Omi's shot with the air gun brought out a scream of pain from Donald Wade.

"You little bastard! I'll enjoy killing you," Donald Wade called out.

Seconds later Jinpei could see a dark brown blur speed over the abandoned car. Jinpei worried; he knew Donald was skilled in the same ninja training as his own and could get the upper hand. Donald Wade had Omi pinned to the ground within a few minutes.

"Say your prayers because now you die like your father wanted you to do years ago," Donald shouted as he put the barrel of a gun to Omi's forehead. A bright blue flash flung Donald Wade threw the air.

Omi leaped up and aimed the air gun, but Donald Wade was still quick. He was nothing but a shadowy memory within seconds.

"Are you okay?" Jinpei asked his trembling friend. Omi was clutching the air gun as if his life depended on it. Tears streamed down Omi's rounded cheeks when he did look up at Jinpei.

"My father finally sent that assassin to kill me. I shouldn't be so surprised, but it shook me up," Omi admitted. "Listen! We have to go get the rest of Weiss to free your team. Let's get down to the flower shop."

_:He's right. It is the most logical, but I need to know if Frances and the others are okay. I'm getting the strangest sensation in my stomach,: _Ivan though.

"You're experiencing panic. You should call them," Omi said, handing Ivan his cell phone while Jinpei hailed another cab.

_:There it is again! That strange buzz in my head when I try to reach them telepathically. Something is wrong.:_ Ivan thought. Jinpei hailed another cab and they took off to The House of Kittens Florists shop.

To be continued.


	10. Chapter 10

Part Ten:

"Guess what? We're the only ones here," Jet said with a slight lilt to his voice. Albert looked over to where the redheaded cyborg was draped across the arms of a wingback chair.

Jet had called a truce a few days ago, when Albert promised to consider getting his self-detonation device removed, and things had gotten peaceful. Jet had stopped bringing up the topic, and Albert was hoping it would drop permanently. He doubted it, though. Albert had made up his mind yesterday morning to keep it, but he didn't want to tell Jet, just yet. He wanted to take Jet away for a weekend trip, apart from the others, because he had grown weary of their issues being scrutinized by seven other cyborgs and two doctors.

"It's actually silent, for once. I think the doctors went to that new senior citizens' buffet, and Joe took Frannie to the movies. Where is everyone else?" Albert asked, sensing Jet's amorous hint. He lowered his copy of _Beowulf _and gave Jet his attention.

"Pyunma volunteered to help out with those orphaned refugees at the airport. Junior went to help Chang with the shopping at the open-air market. GB went to a bar or something, and Ivan is out with his ginchy, little friends. Yeap... we have the house all to ourselves," A knavish smile drifted to Jet's lips.

"Good. I can finally get through this book," Albert teased, hoisting his book up. Making Jet work a little always made him more interesting in bed. He didn't even look up at the lanky New Yorker, who now stood in front of him. Jet finally cast a shadow over the words. Albert glanced up; Jet had an eyebrow raised in aggravation.

"Come on, don't tease me. They'll be home soon, and I don't feel like being so quiet," Jet said.

* * *

><p>"I'm about to help you, Hell. Your target will be leaving the townhouse in a minute," Schuldig said with a smirk. They were sitting on a park bench across the street from the cyborgs' home.<p>

"Really? How so?" the dark haired lady-assassin asked.

"I'm going to get my target to shout out his dead wife's name in just two more minutes," Schuldig said.

"How's that going to get my target out of the house?" she asked, getting annoyed with Schuldig.

"You see, they're making out hot and heavy and... now... I got this Albert fellow thinking about how your target has the same color hair as his dead wife and some other non-sense. Now he just called out her name! Get ready, Hell," Schuldig snapped, tugging on his ear and giving her a wink.

* * *

><p>Albert flinched at the loud slam of the front door. His face blazed with shame at the pain he had inflicted on Jet. He had never once let his deceased wife's name pass his lips after he and Jet started spending more intimate times together. For some inexplicable reason, his mind had been plagued all week by Hilda's memory. Jet had been patient during the negotiation of their relationship, but the New Yorker drew the line at the indignity of being called Hilda.<p>

Albert walked over to the window and drew back the thick curtain. He watched Jet run down the street into the dusk. His eyes drifted across the street to where a man and a woman were sitting on a bench. He flinched back when the man looked up at him and smiled.

_ :Good evening, Herr Heinrich. I'm Schuldig.:_ a voice sounded in his head. Albert's jaw clenched as he let shock run through him.

"Guilty? You're guilty of what?" Albert asked out loud in German.

_:Enjoying the pain I'm about to cause you.: _the man projected the thought into Albert's mind and stood up. The woman stood up as well, but ran towards Jet.

Albert tugged off the glove on his right hand, wondering what new thing the Black Ghost was throwing at them. Also, he had to get to Jet. Albert launched himself outside and glared at the tall redhead with a smug expression.

"I'll let Miss Hell deal with your substitute," he said in German with an unmistakable Bavarian accent.

"Leave him alone," he napped in his native language as he noticed the strange man had a gun.

"Why should you care what becomes of him? He's a game to you, a distraction from your beloved Hilda." The man's words were punctuated with a buzzing noise invading Albert's head. A dizzying sensation hit, along with doubt over his intentions towards Jet.

"Leave me alone! You don't know!"

"Yes, well... a reminder of what you once had."

Albert eyes unfocused and he could see Hilda laying at his feet, bloody. She looked up at him with her cerulean eyes, accusation in them. He knelt down as she gasped and said, "Why did you leave me here? You've forgotten me! Now you've betrayed me? Why?"

Albert shook his head fiercely. This wasn't real, but the guilt rising in his chest was tangible. "Please, don't ask that. It's so lonely without you."

He felt a sharp shock to the back of his neck. He fought to stay upright, but sunk to the ground beside Hilda's image. Darkness engulfed him.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" a man in glasses asked Frances and Joe. He was pointing to the empty seat next to Frances.<p>

"Help yourself," Joe said with a smile. The man sat down.

"I'm going to the ladies room before the movie starts," Frances whispered over to Joe. He let her slip by.

"This should be a good film," the man said, making small talk to Joe. "My name is Brad Crawford."

"Joe Shimamura. My girlfriend wanted to see this for a long time," Joe said, propping his popcorn on his knee.

"What a lovely girlfriend you have. European?"

"She's French," Joe replied with a ring of pride.

"I think she wants your attention," Crawford said, pointing to the door at the back of the theater. Joe looked, but didn't see Frances.

"I don't see her," Joe said, looking back at the man.

"My mistake," Crawford said before sipping on a soda from a straw. Joe smirked before eating a little popcorn. He looked down at the bucket with a crinkled nose. It didn't taste right.

"You were about to say your popcorn doesn't taste quite right. That was my fault," Crawford said.

Joe noticed with sinking horror that his jaw was cemented together. His tongue laid dead in his mouth. This would put him in danger if this man was from the Black Ghost.

"I expect you to cooperate now that you can't activate your acceleration device, Cyborg 009. My associate, Miss Neu, has Cyborg 003 under control by now. I don't think we'll stay to watch the movie. Lets walk nice and easy to the parking lot. Your owner wants to talk things over with you."

* * *

><p>Pyunma noticed the odd, one-eyed man across the cots occupied by refugees. He wasn't one of the Red Cross workers he had been introduced to. The man shifted the small child from one arm to the other as he walked towards Pyunma Dwmbee.<p>

"Wouldn't it be a shame to see a little child suffer, 008?" the man asked. Pyunma stood up from where he crouched next to a box of rolled bandages. "If you don't cooperate, Cyborg 008, I'll gleeful skin this child alive and break every limb."

"What! Who are you?" he asked, noticing the year old child was trembling while sucking on her fist. The strange man's one amber eye looked empty of any sanity. Pyunma knew the man wasn't bluffing.

"My name is Farfarello. When I'm sure you'll cooperate, I'll let this precious little child go. Follow me. All these good deeds are making me queasy," the one-eyed man said, leading Pyunma out of the airport's impromptu refugees' building.

* * *

><p>"Hey there, sweety. Want to buy me a drink?" a gorgeous blond woman asked, sitting beside Great Britain at the bar.<p>

"Sure! I'd love to," he said, waving over a bartender.

"I'm Schön, by the way," she said after she was served.

"They call me Great Britain," he replied.

"I lived in London for a while when I modeled," she said.

"You do look like a model," he said, smiling at her. "I'm an actor, by the way."

GB couldn't believe his incredible luck. Now he was glad he didn't talk the others into coming along. He regaled the lady with stories from his glory days, and she listened and laughed at all the right points. After two more drinks, she leaned over and put her hand on his knee.

"Why don't we go back to my place and get to know each other better?" she asked. GB quickly paid the bar tab and followed the woman outside and down an alleyway.

"What the..." he started, but didn't finish as the stun gun came out of her purse. He hit the ground as everything went black.

* * *

><p>"Hello there," the cheery, blue-haired, teenage girl said, jumping out of the shadows at Chang. He stepped back and adjusted his grocery bag back to his other arm.<p>

"Hello to you as well," Chang said, giving her a bright smile.

"Tot is looking for, Cyborg 006," she said with a grin as she raised her parasol. A thin blade popped out of the tip. Chang's expression melted to worry. He glanced to see Junior was still at a stall half a block away.

"Don't worry. Nagi will teach Cyborg 005 to not be bad," she said with a slight giggle. Chang saw a teenage boy with large, sad eyes approach the giant American Indian.

There were just too many people in the market place for Chang or Junior resist. Chang surrendered, dropping the grocery sack and lofting his hands. He hoped to find a chance to stop these children away from the people walking the streets.

* * *

><p>"Hello," the dark haired woman said, sitting on the swing beside Jet. He glared at her as he continued to dig the toe of his sneaker into the sand beneath the swing he sat on. "You look a little too old for parks."<p>

"Listen, lady, I'm not in a good mood," Jet snapped.

"I see. Let me guess... Your significant other just hurt your feelings and now you're pouting," she said.

"Good guest, lady," Jet said, swaying back and forth while his hands gripped the swing's chains.

"That's what you get for seeing a man who lost his wife so tragically," she continued. Jet froze after his head snapped to his right. "You'll never measure up and you'll be nothing more than a replacement."

"How did you know?" he asked, glaring at her. She didn't look like anyone he recognized in the Black Ghost organization.

"I know a lot, Cyborg 002. No flying off, by the way. It'll only make things worse for your loved ones. My associates have subdued 004, 003, 009, 008 and 007. I haven't received word about 005 or 006 yet, but I'm confidant they'll be under our control soon."

"What do you want?" Jet shouted, jumping up from the swing.

"You to surrender. We were given orders to bring you all back, but we were told we could use harsh tactics. You wouldn't want the others to suffer, would you? Especially, your special friend?" she asked.

"Don't you hurt Albert!" Jet said, clenching his hands into fists.

"Then drink this and don't give me any trouble," she said, holding up a flask. Jet snatched it from her. "Just what I thought. You're a fool for not running."

"I'd rather be a fool than leave Albert alone," Jet said solemnly before gulping down the knock-out liquid. The woman's face took on a sad expression.

"I know how you feel," she said. "You must be very in love."

* * *

><p>"All of you did a wonderful job," Crawford complimented the seven other assassins standing around the back of a semi parked behind an abandoned warehouse. "I put a call in. The ISO building is under control, but the Science Ninja Team is still at large. The flowers set loose on the Weiss Kreuz assassins should be germinating now."<p>

"Excellent," Hell said. "We're all read to fly to the Himalayas. Where is this base again?"

"It's an old Galactor base called Cross Karakorum. It's actually deep inside the earth. Count Egobossler has it prepared for our arrival. We'll all meet there with our prisoners," Crawford said with a slight smile. "Farfarello, drive the truck to the airport. We'll regroup in Kathmandu, Tibet and proceed from there."

* * *

><p>"Close the gate, will you, Ken?" Youji asked, leaning over the counter.<p>

"Wait! I have a delivery," a stocky man in a brown uniform said, sliding in with a small cardboard box. Ken signed the clipboard, took the box, and locked the gate.

"Who's it from?" Youji asked. "Omi made the order only yesterday."

"It's a sample from some place called Berg Katse Botanicals. Says orchid seeds," Ken explained, opening the package. Aya walked over to the counter as Ken shook the three seeds into his hand. "They don't look like orchid seeds though."

"Let's worry about them tomorrow. It's your turn to cook, and Aya's turn to wash dishes." Youji said brightly.

"I know... I know... your turn to goof off," Ken snapped right before they closed the shop and headed upstairs.

They were in the middle of Ken's simple rice and salmon dinner when they heard a crash coming from the shop.

"You've got to be kidding me? Someone trying to steal from us?" Youji asked.

"Let's go kick their asses!" Ken said, jumping up from his chair.

"Careful. We haven't found out if we're someone's target yet," Aya said. The three of them snuck to their rooms, got their weapons, and slipped quietly down to the darkened flower shop.

Youji went left and Ken went right after Aya's hand signals. Youji stepped carefully, keeping his wire ready. He felt something curl around his ankle; he looked down in confusion. Ken's strangled shout from the other side of the store startled Youji. He tried springing backwards, but found his legs were bound by something that felt like steel cord.

He heard a crash behind his head and heard the whisper of Aya's katana slice through the air. In the dim light he saw Aya's right arm being wrapped by a thick round object. Youji felt something hard under his fingers. He clutched it realizing it was a planter's spade. He jabbed upwards as something slid upward towards his chest.

With a mixture of horror and irony, Youji realized it was a ten foot, luminescent scarlet blossom that was hovering above him. A puff of gold pollen drifted onto his face. Seconds later he lost the will to fight as his body was dragged towards the petals.

* * *

><p>Omi hopped out of the taxi before it stopped entirely and fell to his knees at the sight of the smashed store front. Jinpei and Ivan stood beside him.<p>

_:There is no one inside the store or upstairs in your loft.:_ Ivan thought into Omi's head. Jinpei still had three of Donald Wade's bolos; he was grateful he didn't have to use it yet. Omi's face was the very picture of despair.

Omi slowly nodded and stood up. Jinpei was relived to see Omi's face had taken on a hard, determined look. He followed Omi through the disaster the shop had become. They went upstairs to Omi's room. Jinpei watched the blond assassin drag out a large case from under his bed.

Omi quickly changed out of his swim trunks and tee shirt into a set of dark clothing he kept with the case. Jinpei figured this was what Omi wore when he went out for assassinations. Jinpei was impressed with the high powered crossbow in the case. Omi picked it up along with several bolts. He slung the crossbow over his shoulder and turned to his friends once again.

"Somehow, this is all related," Omi said. Omi lead them to the room beside his. He opened the door and rummaged through a chest-of-drawers. "Ken took his bagknucks and gloves."

Jinpei followed Omi to the room across the hall where the blond assassin took a look under the bed. Omi hopped up and said, "Aya's katana is gone as well as his dark cloths. I bet Youji's stuff is missing too. That means they fought someone."

"Or something. It's crazy Donald Wade we're talking about," Jinpei said. "Three assassins with their weapons? It had to be something large and dangerous."

_:0012 implied that all of our teams are in danger.:_

"Since all my teammates are gone, we need to go to 0012 and make her talk," Omi said. "She knows where they are! I'm sure of it."

"What a time for me to quit and hand in my bird-style! I feel like a big jerk," Jinpei groused.

_ :If we can defeat 0012, we can get your bird-style back.: _Ivan pointed out.

"Let's go to the Snack J. There is something we need to get. It's eight blocks from here, but..."

_:No time like the present to see if I can do this.:_ Ivan thought, grabbing Omi and Jinpei's shoulders. A deep blackness swirled around Jinpei. Seconds later he was standing in his bedroom in the loft of the Snack J.

"What the..." Jinpei looked around startled. Ivan had a small trickle of blood under his nose. He slumped forward and found his balance again.

"Ivan told me he could teleport things. I guess that means us too," Omi said, looking around suddenly.

"That's too cool, but are you okay?" Jinpei asked Ivan, who held his nostrils shut. The cyborg nodded. "This way."

Jinpei lead them downstairs to a garage. He flipped the lights and dragged a canvas tarp off an orange and red dune buggy.

"I haven't used this guy in four years. Hop in," Jinpei said. The three of them piled in the buggy. Jinpei clicked the garage door open and cranked the engine to life.

"What is this thing?" Omi asked.

"My Falcon Tracker. I can't activate the other mode with the weapons unless I get my bird-style back. Better than taking taxis though," Jinpei said. Omi nodded and buckled his seat belt as Jinpei peeled out into the night.

* * *

><p>"So what are the plans now that Jinpei is gone? You aren't going to fill his spot, are you?" Ryu asked, looking around Dr Nambu's office at his other teammates and then the doctor.<p>

"I don't think so. At least that's not what I want. We will have to change some of our fighting patterns, codes, and a few other things," Ken Washio answered. "The four of us will be it. For now."

"I think a new teammate is something I would like you to all consider. I can start searching for a replacement," Dr. Nambu said. In his right hand he held Jinpei's bird-style bracelet. He rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger as he studied the rest of the team.

"Are you sure he won't come back? I think he's just blowing off steam," Ryu said.

"It doesn't matter! The Science Ninja Team is not a revolving door. He has chosen to be irresponsible, therefore, I can't allow him back even if he does want to rejoin," Dr. Nambu said.

"That's harsh, Doctor," Ryu said.

"The Doctor is right," Ken said. "Our team is so small and tight that it'll put strain on us if Jinpei can't make up his mind. For everyone's safety, I cannot allow him to be so fickle about being a Science Ninja Team member. After a cooling off period, I think he could come back rather than pick someone new."

"What is our new schedule?" Jun ask, sitting beside Ryu. He had been worried over Jun's cold silence during the whole meeting. She seemed so sad and distant.

"I think that you need to consult me about your further plans, Science Ninja Team." A gorgeous woman with mossy hair suddenly appeared by Dr Nambu's window. She was sipping tea from a dainty cup. What freaked Ryu out was that he couldn't see her reflection in the window, just his teammates'.

"Who are you?" Ken shouted at her lifting his left arm.

"You can call me Cyborg 0012. My master sent me to collect you. Surrender now or I will harm you," she said simply with an elegant smile.

"We don't surrender," Ken said. The four team members changed into their bird-styles.

"Yes, your famous bird-styles. You see, I am not a woman of flesh and blood any longer. You are standing inside of my body. My brain is the ISO mainframe computer and this very building is now my body. I know all of your little secrets. I also know how to defeat them," she said.

"How did you beat my system?" Dr. Nambu asked.

"I'm not interested in talking to you, Doctor. Take down your bird-styles now and surrender," she addressed Eagle Ken.

"No," he said.

"Then I shall have some entertainment," she said. The large projection screen flared to life. Several ISO workers were trapped in the cafeteria. They pounded on the door and shouted. "I have forced all the people in my body to this room. I shall start pouring acid, my gastric juices, through those pipes above their heads if you don't surrender. I'll still be able to neutralize your bird-styles afterwards by broadcasting a counter frequency. According to Dr. Nambu's records in the mainframe, I can interrupt it. The choice is yours. Do you want them alive or dead?"

A minute later the pipes in the cafeteria started leaking a dark green liquid. The people screamed and scrambled out of the drizzle. Ken transmuted from his bird-style, the others followed.

"We surrender. What do you want us to do?" Ken asked.

"Walk to the loading docks. Some of my master's people will meet you there. Don't try anything or they will die. You, Dr. Nambu, can just stay in your office. Keep in mind I will be watching you," Cyborg 0012 said with a hard expression on her elegant face. "Also know that those men have sonic pistols on the neutralizing counter frequency."

* * *

><p>"Now what?" Jinpei asked as they pulled up behind some bushes in front of the ISO building. Omi picked up a pair of binoculars as a large truck rolled out of the loading docks.<p>

"Ivan, can you tell if my teammates are there?" Jinpei asked.

_:No. They are gone, but Dr. Nambu is in there. Cyborg 0012 is watching him closely. If I teleport him out, she'll kill a lot of people she has trapped in the cafeteria. I just don't think I can grab both Dr. Nambu and the others at once because they are too spaced out. To tell the truth, I never have bled while teleporting anything before. Something may be wrong with my brain.:_

"We need to distract her then," Omi said. "Ivan, can you distract her? Just talk to her. She seems interested in you. I can free the people in the cafeteria. That will leave you free to get Dr Nambu, Jinpei. What do you think?"

"Sounds good," Jinpei said.

* * *

><p>"Cyborg 0012," Ivan shouted at the ISO's security door. "Show yourself." Moments later the projected image of the woman appeared.<p>

"I wish to... stop running. I wish to submit to the... Black Ghost organization. Can we negotiate?"

"Wonderful. Your father will be thrilled," she said.

* * *

><p>Omi slowly unlatched the ventilation shaft and peered at the fifteen bedraggle people hunkered under a long table in the dim cafeteria. It had been a challenge to slip under the cameras and up into the air conditioning system. He gave them a hand signal to join him. They quickly, quietly made their way to the shaft and crawled after Omi.<p>

* * *

><p>Jinpei had to crawl up the side of the ISO building. He finally made it to the ledge in front of Dr Nambu's window. He glanced in to see the doctor looking back at him. The doctor's face became blank again after his surprise. Jinpei could see his bird-style bracelet in the doctor's hand. The doctor hefted the bracelet in his hand and shook his head.<p>

_:Ivan! Can you teleport just my bird-style from Dr Nambu's hand on to my wrist? Don't do it if you're going to hurt yourself.:_ Jinpei thought. The bracelet glowed blue and was on Jinpei's wrist in a flash.

"Transmute," Jinpei said. His street cloths became bird-style armor.

* * *

><p>"Why are you bleeding, 001?" 0012 asked as Ivan's nose started bleeding again. Ivan shook his head.<p>

"I don't know, 0012. Please... tell me what is... going on? Why the Science... Ninja Team?" he asked, trying to get her distracted again.

"Because we have exchanged them to Count Egobossler. He has used his skills and kidnapped a group of assassins for a crime lord by the name of Takatori. In return, Takatori has subdued the other ungrateful cyborg rebels. We are one happy conglomeration now," she answered.

_:So that's the connection! They all met and are going after our teams!: _

"What the..." she swung around, looking back to the building. "You liar! You'll pay with the lives of the people I'm about to kill!"

* * *

><p>"Run," Omi shouted as the air-conditioning fan cranked on full blast. It sucked Omi towards the blades along with the last three hostages. He quickly fired his crossbow with a wire. They all clung to it. Omi then took out Condor Joe's air gun and shot the bolt securing the fan blades. A loud squelch and crash preceded calm silence.<p>

"Hurry. Get out now," Omi shouted at the hostages. They quickly climbed out of the vent to the outside. Omi crawled after them with his weapons still drawn. "Get off the property! Just run," he shouted, pointing to the front gate. Omi ran to the front of the building where he saw Ivan standing with the image of Madam Yana.

"You escaped! Very clever little boy. You would make a wonderful addition to the cyborg army being built by the Black Ghost," she said. "It doesn't really make a difference now. The Science Ninja Team is on their way to Cross Karakorum. You'll be too late."

"You dizzy computer," Jinpei shouted, gliding down beside Omi with his blue-gold wings out stretched. "Cross Karakorum was destroyed!"

"Now it is rebuilt. You three spoiled children may as well quit," she said.

"Never!" Omi shouted. She started laughing.

"Have a good evening. Tell Dr. Nambu my master will love all the technology you have developed. I'll make sure they know the three of you are together," she said before her image disappeared.

"Oh no. I better tell the doctor about you two," Jinpei said.

At that moment, Dr. Nambu slipped through the front of the ISO building. He gave Jinpei a stern look and said, "I think you have more on your mind

* * *

><p>Aya was the first to wake up. He slowly rose when he realized he was in a cage with a half-Japanese young man. He recognized the young man as Joe Shimamura from Omi's school after a few groggy moments, and they were chained to each other by collars around their necks. He looked over to his left where Ken Hidaka was coming around as well. Ken was in a separate cell. He was chained to a tall African man who was still asleep.<p>

To his right, in another separate cell, he saw Ken Washio dressed in khakis and a blue windbreaker. He was chained to that redheaded reckless driver with a large, pointy nose.

"Ken," Aya said to his teammate. Both Kens came around and looked over at Aya.

"What's going on?" Hidaka asked.

"It seems we've been captured," Washio said. "Fujimiya! Hidaka! How did you get here and why?"

"Well... large flowers ran amuck in our flower shop and we woke up here. I'll appreciate the irony more once we're out of here," Hidaka sneered.

"Not those again," Washio groaned.

"You know about them?" Aya asked.

"A very long story. Jun almost died when they caught her six years ago, but they were only genetically programed to go after women," Washio answered.

"Where are we?" Aya asked as he explored his cage.

"We're in Cross Karakorum," Joe Asakura answered, standing up. He was chained to a man who looked more machine than human.

"This ruined room? Are you sure?" Washio asked.

"I died here. I should know," Joe answered. The two Kens and Aya looked over to a darkened corner that contained an obscenely massive generator.

"I think we all need to come clean, Washio," Aya said. "Our boys seem to have been keeping secrets from us all."

To be continued.


	11. Chapter 11

Part Eleven:

"What you did was very irresponsible. It has put the whole team in danger," Dr. Nambu said after he shook his head at Jinpei. The teenager looked down at the Snack J's bar, forlorn.

"Yes! I agree! Why didn't you tell us, 001?" Dr. Gilmore snapped at the cyborg sitting next to Jinpei. He had a blank look on his face and a bloodstain under his nose.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Manx?" Omi asked, looking up at the attractive redheaded woman. He looked just as forlorn as Jinpei.

"I think these gentlemen are doing a wonderful job without my help. Besides, I've already had words with you earlier about putting your teammates in danger by lying," Manx said, crossing her arms while she shifted on her barstool. "It looks as if my point hit home."

"001, you should have known to trust us. We would have kept these boys' secrets. After all we've been through? I'm very hurt," Dr. Gilmore said, shaking his head.

"Issac! Please! Can't you tell 001 feels bad enough? Let me look at you, my boy. This bleeding is probably created by pressure or heat when you use that part of your brain. We'll need to go back and reinforce your new head. It would seem you're functioning at a higher level than we thought you would," Dr. Kozumi said.

"Frances," Ivan murmured. It was the only word he would say the whole hour after they had left the ISO building and gathered at the Snack J.

"Is he in some sort of shock?" Omi asked.

"He has trouble processing emotions sometimes. It is why we sent him to school in the first place," Dr. Gilmore said. "I am sorry, 001. I shouldn't be so hard on you. I know you would be devastated if anything happened to 003."

"Dr. Nambu! We don't have time for all of this. We need to head to Cross Karakorum and get our teams out of there!" Jinpei shouted.

"You're right, but you can't just go and come back. There is only one of you and Donald Wade is now working with Egobossler. Don will know a lot of your tricks," Dr. Nambu said. "I don't want you to go by yourself."

"There are three of us. You said yourself that small numbers were better because we can slip in easier. Not only that, but all we really have to do is break in and free our teammates. Once we do that there will be eighteen of us. That's good odds to fight our way out," Jinpei said.

"I don't know about sending Omi in that kind of a meat grinder," Manx said. "Persia wouldn't approve."

"It's my choice! I need to get Aya, Ken, and Youji back! I won't listen to Persia tell me otherwise. You said for me to choose who I'm loyal to," Omi said, getting a hard look to his wide, innocent eyes.

"I'm with Omi. Besides, Dr. Nambu, I'm not technically a Science Ninja Team member anymore. You can't order me around. Don't you think I want Jun and Ryu back, too?"

"I don't know. You left them," Dr Nambu pointed out.

"You aren't going to make me feel bad about my decision. I had to get away from some of the hard things about being on the team, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't go to Cross Karakorum again and again to rescue them. I can't see Joe die again," Jinpei said through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry, Jinpei. Ken told me how hard things have been on you. We'll talk about it later. If you're willing to go, you have my blessing, but wait until I have done some re-con," Dr. Nambu said.

"Persia has authorized me to assist you with that, Dr. Nambu," Manx offered. "It looks as if I can't stop Bombay."

"Thank you," Dr. Nambu said.

"Ivan, are you coming with us? We really need your help, but only if your feeling up to it. I mean... Omi and I can make due if your head isn't quite right. I didn't mean to say it that way, but you know what I mean," Jinpei said. Ivan nodded slowly still looking shell shocked.

"But, we need to make adjustments to the housing for your brain. It'll be too dangerous if we made a miscalculation," Dr. Gilmore said. "Keep in mind, your brain will get exhausted and shut down when it reaches its limit. We just don't know where your limit is right now because you haven't been pushed hard yet."

_:It'll take you weeks to make the adjustments, Dr. Gilmore. Frances and the others can't wait that long. I feel the same way as Omi and Jinpei. They are the only family I've ever known. I need them or I will become a cold machine with no heart. I'm on borrowed time anyway, Dr. Gilmore. I've lived a long time. The thought of my impending immortality has been a bitter pill to me since I've met Omi and Jinpei. I want to live like them. They are going to risk their lives for their loved ones; how can I not do the same? Time is of the essence. If we can catch them before they have time to establish themselves at Cross Karakorum, we'll have an advantage.: _Ivan projected to everyone since the secret was exposed.

"I agree. The boys will have a better chance the sooner they strike," Dr. Nambu said. "How risky is this for him?"

"If he doesn't try to teleport much of anything he should be fine. Also his telekinesis needs to be used judiciously. He uses the portion of his brain for telekinesis that's adjacent to the portion that he uses for teleportation. If it gets swollen and overheated, like we suspect is going on, then it could be dangerous," Dr. Gilmore said. "Other than that, 001 should be fine."

"Manx, if you'll come with me," Dr. Nambu said, standing. "You boys will have to figure out how to get there."

"They could use the Dolphin, but they're no pilots," Dr. Gilmore said.

"Pimer," Jinpei shouted. "Come on, Omi. I need your help to hook up their ship with an auto-piloting system." The bar was empty new except for Dr. Gilmore, Dr. Kozumi, and Ivan.

"Since you're bound to go, I have something for you. I was going to give it to you next week, but I think you'll need it," Dr. Gilmore said, leading Ivan and Dr. Kozumi out of the bar. The elderly scientist opened his trunk and handed Ivan a box. The Russian cyborg opened and smiled.

_:This is wonderful, doctor. I appreciate it.:_ Ivan thought. He took out a new scarlet and gold uniform in his size along with the same type of multi-functional pistol all of the other cyborgs had.

"Just be careful, 001," Dr. Gilmore said.

_:I promise I won't push myself too far unless I have too.:_ Ivan thought. _:Jinpei wants me to meet him. I'll see you later, doctor.: _

* * *

><p>"We're a five person team sent to stop a secret alien invasion. This is the third wave in the last six years. It's an alien intelligence that mutates every time we've defeated it before. It takes normal humans and genetically alters them to serve as the overlord. It has fused fraternal twins and it has taken a small child and advanced her age. We think its getting desperate because he picked a rich count to lead his invasions this time. Jinpei is our youngest member and our resident computer hacker," Ken Washio said to Aya. "What about you?"<p>

"We're a covert group of assassins sent in to kill off crime lords that the police either can't or won't touch. We all have vendettas against the crime lord family called the Takatoris. We've worked hard to get at him, but we're starting to see that there maybe a larger organization behind the Takatoris. We only work out of Japan," Ken Hidaka interrupted to Aya's annoyance. "Omi is our resident computer hacker, too. I see why they became good friends all of the sudden. What about Ivan?"

"He's with us," the redhead beside Washio said, sitting up. He grimaced in pain and looked over at Hidaka. "Not you again! I can't seem to get a break."

"Well who are you guys anyway? I know you're a lousy driver, but who is Ivan?" the ex-soccer player said with a vicious smirk. "Come clean like the rest of us. Why are you people here?"

"Jet is my name, in case you don't remember, soccer mom. We're here because some twisted men kidnapped us off the streets and forced us into cybernization surgeries. They were going to sell us like a bunch of animals, but nine of us escaped. We've been on the run from them for a few years. Ivan has the poor luck of being the kid of one of the sick people that turned us into what we are. He cybernized Ivan's brain so he could get in with the Black Ghost. Nice people, hun?" Jet asked Hidaka with a sour look.

"That's pretty nasty," Washio said, looking carefully at his cell mate. "What kinds of changes did they make?"

"I can fly," Jet said with a sly smile.

"So can I. You don't need cybernization to be a pilot," Washio said with an aggravated look. Aya could tell the Japanese ninja was still groggy from the drugs that they had all been given or he would have caught on with ease at what the sassy Jet was implying.

"Can you fly without an airplane?" Jet asked. Eagle Ken shook his head while Aya studied Jet closer. "Didn't think so. You won't notice my changes on the outside. Albert's you can," Jet said to Aya.

Aya looked to the cage Joe Asakura was in. The man Condor Joe was chained too was the German Youji had told him about from the police station. He could now see why the man kept so covered. His right hand was made of dull metal.

"So you're telling us you all were changed and going to be sold? For what purpose?" Aya asked.

"Weapons. We are all living weapons," Jet said. "They were going to sell us to countries who wanted to start up wars with their neighbors."

"That's right, Cyborg 002, but you had to go and ruin my plans!"

"Scar! I knew you were behind this," Jet shouted as he turned to an elevator door across the room. Standing in the bright light from the elevator were five men. Two of which, Aya recognized: Reiji Takatori and and the customer who attacked Youji.

"Don't try anything foolish. All of your abilities are being neutralized by the collars around your neck. An igneous device invented by young Mr. Wade," Scar said.

"It's transmitting a silent pulse into your brain at irregular intervals that scramble the signals to your cyborg enhancements. Cyborg 0012 gave me the idea from what she threatened. A very adroit machine you have, highness," Donald Wade said, addressing Scar with deference. "A nice feature is that the signal also blocks the electronics in bird-style bracelets. I piggy-backed the signal with the neutralizing frequency just to ensure you don't get any uppity ideas, Washio."

"We should have killed you when we had the chance," Ken said, bolting up to his feet. The small three feet of chain between he and Jet drew tight and knocked Jet into the Eagle's back.

"Also, they'll detonate if removed so don't tamper with them. I was thinking about Juni too. Wonder if she's still good at defusing explosives," Donald Wade added while waving an index finger over at the still sleeping Jun.

"Hey! You're that moron who screwed with us," Ken Hidaka shouted clenching the bars of his cage tightly. His cell mate, the tall African, started to wake up. Ken helped him up and turned his attention back to Donald.

"I thought I would give you a good laugh by setting large woman-eating flowers on you. Didn't like my joke, florist?" Donald Wade asked with a crooked smile. "I just trained them to seek out your specific genetic patterns, rather than estrogen. That's why we drew your blood. Just for kicks I infected you at the same time with a little bacteria I developed in jail. Just enough to dehydrate you and make you weak while my flowers kidnapped you, but the three of you should be over it by now. I found the whole thing quite amusing."

"Enough! What do you want with us?" Aya asked calmly, looking at Takatori who was smoking a cigar.

"I want the four of you pests out of the way. Count Egobossler helped me catch you, and now Scar is going to find a new purpose for your lives," Takatori said. The Japanese crime lord snapped his fingers. A tall man appeared from the shadows and took his place at Takatori's side. "Finish waking all these people up, Schuldig, so we don't have to repeat ourselves."

The tall, redheaded German sent out a telepathic jolt to everyone in their cells. All around the room they all shook, murmured, and slowly stood on shaky legs. Schuldig took out a gun from his suit jacket. He fired three shots in the air with a wicked grin; the loud bangs caught everyone's attention.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Reiji Takatori. My two new associates and I have decided to assist each other in removing the obstacles to our goals: all of you people. As you see, we had fantastic results."

"What now, Takatori?" Aya asked.

"Fujimiya brat. Looks like I'll have the last word after all. Just to let you know, we're not going to kill the Weiss Kreuz members or the Science Ninja Team members. I agreed to sell you Weiss assassins to the Black Ghost organization for a tidy little sum. Count Egobossler sold the Science Ninja Team to the Black Ghost as well. I guess you're wondering what the Black Ghost does."

"We know they mutilate people," Aya replied.

"They enhance people. Make them better than before. You should be grateful that you'll be following in this fine, sixty year old tradition," Takatori said. "Scar doesn't want to use these old, rebellious cyborgs any more, but he still wants a set of prototypes. That's where you seven will come in. You're each chained to a cyborg with the abilities you will soon have. The only twist is that all of you will receive lobotomies. Scar learned from his mistake the first time. After that, he'll destroy all the old cyborgs and start fresh. I've already considered buying you, Fujimiya. I've seen the plans for you. You'll be the ultimate assassin."

Aya looked over to Joe Shimamura who's eyes were blazing in fury at Takatori. He couldn't tell what Joe's cybernization involved, but he knew he didn't want any part of it by the cold hatred in his eyes. The Weiss assassin turned back to Takatori.

"I'll die before you make me some sort of monster," Aya said softly. He turned at a sharp intake of breath. Shimamura was now looking at him with that same deep anger. Takatori's laughter rang through the empty cavern.

"You're already a monster! You're a killer of men! You think you're a righteous avenger, but you're nothing more than my brother's filthy flunky. I don't see why you're resisting. I like your new name. Cyborg 0022. Has a nicer ring to it than Ran Fujimiya," Takatori said. "Don't worry, you'll be the last to get your surgery. They'll start with this dolt, the future Cyborg 0014, tomorrow morning." Aya looked over to where Takatori pointed with the butt of his cigar. It was at Ken Washio. "When those three kids get here, they'll be put on the schedule too. I really wanted to just kill the Tsukiyono brat, and almost did, but I'm enjoying this solution much better. I'm glad Scar talked me into this."

"It's time we leave. There are still some preparations to be made," Count Egobossler said. "Have sweet dreams, Science Ninja Team. They'll be your last." The five men went to the elevator and left their prisoners chained together in the dim light.

Aya turned to Joe Shimamura. He crossed his arms and leaned his back against the bars. "I didn't mean to offend you," Aya started. "He's right, I am a killer. I have no right to judge anything you've become."

"Thank you, but I understand being pushed into corners like you've been. It'll take more than that to offend me," Joe said. He shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to be changed like me. It's an awful half-life."

"You're the first person I've met who actually has a right to bitch about life," Aya said. "What did they do to you anyway?"

"I have an acceleration device. My body can move up to Mach five. No one can see me and I can't hear anything when I move that fast. Everything just looks as if it moves in slow motion to me," Joe answered.

"So that's why he said I would be the ultimate assassin," Aya said.

"Nothing could stop you if you had an acceleration device," Joe agreed. "This existence is not something to crave. It's painful to watch your loved ones grow old and die while you remain the same. It happened to my girlfriend."

"I wouldn't want to be as you are. I want to live like I am," Aya said. He turned to everyone else and said, "We're all getting out of here! Not one of us is going to be touched."

"This is crazy! Are they really serious?" Youji asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Very serious," the rotund Chinese man who he was chained to said. "They'll do it quickly and not give you a chance to speak. They even took me when I was attempting suicide. They're no respecters of a person's body."

"That's horrible! I'm the only one I want disrespecting my body... that or some hot brunette chick," Youji said, attempting a joke. "So any good ideas? I'm not going to end up some zombie that does... whatever he does." Youji flung his hand towards the Chinese man.

"The boys are still out there. We have some hope," Aya said. "Omi will be coming for us. I know him and have faith in him. He's a smart kid."

"Ivan has tremendous psychic abilities, but he can't live without us. I believe he'll try to rescue us too. He helped mastermind our first escape. He can do it again," Joe said.

"How about Jinpei?" Aya asked the Eagle Leader.

"I believe he'll come for us," Ken said. "He has a good heart even thought we're at odds with him. I'm worried about their chances, though. We're very deep inside the earth. We should try to escape before they get here."

"Agreed," Joe said. Aya nodded.

To be continued.


	12. Chapter 12

Part Twelve:

"These are the satellite images we were able to get. As you know, Cross Karakorum is located in the Himalayas, one hundred meters into this mountain. It would seem that the base is still in a shambles, but they have been able to make it habitable over the last year. Their security consists of a geo-synchronized satellite. They're unable to get any of their ground defense working yet, but it's only a matter of time," Dr. Nambu said, showing six slide images projected on the wall of the Snack J. Jinpei had made sure the place was closed tight before their briefing. The three boys, dressed in their respective uniforms, nodded.

"Good, if we can get the _Dolphin_ to fly low over the mountains they won't be able to see us very well," Omi said. "We'll work on hacking the satellite on the way in. If we can just confuse it for a moment, we'll be good."

"We can get her to fly supper fast and jump at the right time. We'll get her to circle high and call her back when we've got everyone out," Jinpei said.

"That's fine for you, but I can't fly, bird-boy," Omi said, holding up the tip of Jinpei's blue wing.

_:I can levitate us down. It's a good idea.:_ Ivan said.

"Okay. That is a good idea," Omi agreed, after a sigh of relief. "You also said you had the old plans for the original Galactor base?"

"I've put them on the Dolphin for you three to study. Manx and I couldn't get any information on what the changes are. You'll have to go in blind, which is better, because you'll all need to be flexible. Ivan, will you be able to find them once you're there?" Dr. Nambu asked.

_ :Yes, I should.:_ Ivan thought out loud.

"Good luck, boys. We'll be waiting for your signal," Dr. Nambu said, taking a seat at the table next to Manx. The three boys rose, but it was Dr. Gilmore who caught Ivan in a firm embrace.

"Be careful. You're like my child, 001. I don't want to loose you, or any of them," he said.

_ :Don't worry, Dr. Gilmore. We'll bring them back.: _Ivan said.

"Manx, tell Persia..." Omi started off. She patted his arm and smiled.

"He understands and he's proud of your choice," she said. He smiled back.

"See you later, Dr .Nambu," Jinpei said. The aloof doctor grabbed Jinpei's wrist and gave him a measuring look.

"I'm sorry things haven't gone so well, lately. We'll talk when you get back with the others," Dr. Nambu said. Jinpei's face melted into the first bona fide smile he'd had in days.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence," Jinpei said.

"Come on. Let's go," Omi said. "Jinpei, you'll take point once we get there. I'll cover the back. Ivan, you'll only use your powers to find the others and for self defense. Jinpei and I will handle everything else. Understand?"

"Always a bride's maid, never a bride," Jinpei said with mock sorrow as he followed Omi out of the bar to the back alley. "Next time this happens, I get to boss everyone around!" Omi just sighed, shook his head, and pushed Jinpei towards the door.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean?" Schuldig asked the blue-haired man standing in front of him.<p>

"Don't you feel as though your talents are being under-appreciated?" the Count asked.

"I get insurance and three weeks paid vacation," Schuldig said. "But do you match salaries?"

"Yes. Also, Sosai Z has a very generous signing bonus, along with dental," the Count offered.

"Count Egobossler, I'm afraid Schuldig's resume is not available just yet," Crawford said, appearing from a darkened doorway. Schuldig grimaced when Crawford gave him one of those stern looks over the top of his glasses.

"Well. I have some things to attend to. Keep in touch, gentlemen," Count Egobossler said, leaving down the hallway. Schuldig shot Crawford an annoyed look.

"I've been waiting for dental for over a year now. I still have that impacted tooth you've done nothing about," Schuldig said. "What does Takatori intend on doing about my dental issue?"

"I've devised a new dental program. It starts with you going to visit Farfarello and telling him which tooth you need pulled," Crawford said with a rare, gleeful look at Schuldig's horrified expression.

"I think I'll live with it," Schuldig said, finally coming around at the thought of Farfarello as a dentist. "You know, I'm am surprised he didn't take up dentistry. It would be right up his alley."

"Don't put any more ideas in his head. He's bad enough as it is," Crawford said. "He was all excited because those kooks from the Black Ghost offered to let him watch the operations, but then he decided to not go."

"Let me guess, he found out they use anesthesia," Schuldig said, following Crawford down the icy hallway.

"Naturally," Crawford replied.

* * *

><p>"It's so stinking cold," Omi said, as they finally slipped down from a snow covered bank onto a rocky pathway. "You two are lucky."<p>

"I'm cold too," Jinpei said with a shiver. "My bird-style isn't all that insulated. Why is it that villains always choose the forsaken places to set up their bases? Couldn't they put one in Tahiti, for once?"

"I know, that would be nice," Omi said flatly.

_:Two people are on their way! Quick.: _Ivan warned. They ducked behind a rock formation and crouched.

"... and then he threatened to send me to Farfarello to pull my tooth! Can you imagine," a nasally voice griped.

"That is a frightening thought. He did send me to see Dr. Wu three weeks ago," a mellow, younger voice replied.

"What? Why do you get sent to the dentist? That's not fair," the nasally voice cried out.

"Because I'm sixteen. That makes me a minor under his authority. I just threatened to tell child welfare on him," the mellow voice replied.

"That sucks, along with patrolling out in this horrible weather. Those kids aren't going to be so dumb as to come here and rescue their teammates," the nasally voice said. It was getting softer as the two walked away from where the boys were hiding.

"I would come and rescue you," the mellow voice said fading off.

"Well... that makes you dumb, too..." the final reply they could hear was swallowed in howling winds.

"That was Schuldig and Nagi. How come Schuldig didn't pick us up?" Omi whispered.

_ :I was shielding our minds. I realize now he was the one spying on us, all along. He thinks he's good at this. He doesn't know the half of it yet. I've done this for forty more years than he has.:_ Ivan thought to Omi as his mismatched eyes narrowed. Omi shuddered, there was something in Ivan's demeanor he hadn't noticed before. It was a an emotionless, pitiless ice that was colder than the place they were standing in. Omi had never once been unnerved by Ivan, until this moment.

"Let's go," Jinpei said. Omi shook it off as Ivan seem to melt back to normal.

"Of all the things to complain about with the Takatoris, dental would be the last on my list," Omi said with a glare as he followed his friends.

* * *

><p>"So, Count Egobossler, I hear you've been recruiting among my own men. Didn't we have a policy to not do that?" Reiji Takatori asked after he entered the lounge he, Scar, and the Count used to for relaxation.<p>

"Did we?" the Count asked.

"Don't play with me," Takatori growled. Crawford followed closely behind.

"Gentlemen. Let's not fight," Scar said. "Count, don't try to woo Takatori's men away. It's rather rude. In return I'll let you have your pick from the batch of future cyborgs you helped contribute to."

"I like that solution. Thank you, Scar," Count Egobossler said.

"Just make sure you keep to yourself," Takatori threatened, leaving with Crawford close behind. After they were thirty feet down the wide, dim utilitarian hallway Takatori turned slowly to his right-hand man. "Well?"

"I foresee Scar will try to kill you with bombs on the plane out of here. Egobossler is harmless for now, but I wouldn't turn my back on the Count just yet. I also foresaw him sending Mr. Wade to eliminate you if the bombs don't do their job." Crawford said.

"I think it is time our alliance come to an end. Be ready to get back to Utoland. We'll leave in a few hours," Takatori ordered.

Crawford's eyes unfocused, Takatori watched the American concentrate and then smile. "Don't worry, Mr. Takatori. Scar and the Count will soon have their hands full with escapees. I suggest we depart right this minute."

* * *

><p>"Here we go. Do you want to do the honors?" Jinpei asked when they reached the large hanger door. The access panel glowed in the dimming light to the left of the door.<p>

"I'll cover you," Omi said, glancing around. He drew his crossbow out and aimed for a rocky over hang. "First, lets get the camera." The bolt flew through the air and clipped some snow mixed with rocks. The mixture tumbled past the camera, but Omi quickly fired a second bolt at the camera before the mix stopped falling. "They'll think a rock from an avalanche got it. Hurry before they check it out!"

_ :That was clever.:_ Ivan thought at Omi after Jinpei darted over to the control panel. Omi reloaded his crossbow and kept his eyes on Jinpei.

"Thanks, but it's really just a trick Youji taught me. Most people underestimate how clever he is because he also has a bit of a lazy streak," Omi whispered as the hanger door slid open slightly. "Come on. I really want to see my friends again.

* * *

><p>"You look sick. Is it about tomorrow?" Jet whispered over to Ken Washio.<p>

"No, but I think they'll reject me anyway, because my body has been under heavy stress over the last year," Ken whispered back after seeing everyone absorbed into their own thoughts or trying to catch restless sleep. No one paid them attention, except the man with the metal hand. Albert would look over from his distant cage occasionally, but he was too far away to say anything meaningful to Jet.

"I woke up once. During it... the surgery. My legs were just gone. I remember feeling sick. I thought I was a goner," Jet whispered, with a slight tremor. "I know I shouldn't talk about it because of what's going to happen to you, but I just can't seem to think about anything else, since they have me again. And now I see they're going to do it to some other poor chump. Hey let's talk about you, 'cause I can be a downer some times. What kind of stress?"

"A long story connected with my role in the Science Ninja Team," Ken replied. "My mother died early, so that's been playing in the back of my mind, lately. I'm getting closer to the age when she passed away. I had a clean check up, but I've been really tired, lately."

"You haven't talked about it before. Your ma... and things like that. I can tell the way your shoulders just bunched up. You must have been the type who was an old man by your tenth birthday," Jet said. "You probably keep away from people." Jet jerked his head toward the other cages.

"How would you know?" Ken snapped.

"Albert has been the same way since we started knocking boots. I seem doomed to be chained to frigid guys," Jet griped, rattling the chain connecting him and Ken by the neck. Ken felt his face flush at the reminder of being chained to Jet and his nascent attraction. "Don't tell me you're a prude?" Jet asked mistaking Ken's expression for surprise or disapproval. Jet flopped his hand and sighed before saying, "I mean, when I grew up and where, you didn't talk about stuff like that. After what I've been through with the Black Ghost? I just don't give a damn what anyone thinks."

"No, there was something else I was thinking about," Ken quickly and honestly blew him off. At the same time, he felt a twinge of envy, because he wasn't as open with people.

"Anyway, that night I was kidnapped by the Black Ghost, I'd hurt a guy in a street fight. That's what I deserve dirty looks for."

"That was connected to you being taken, wasn't it?" Ken said. "You feel like this is some sort of punishment for that fight?"

"Yeah. I wasn't such a good guy, just really wild. I think there is a part of me that feels I got what I deserved. That kid's blood was still on my hands when they snatched me. It's something I don't normally talk about." Jet's shoulders slumped deeper as he raised heavy eyes towards Ken. "One thing I can tell is that a nice guy like you doesn't deserve this. You'd be better off kicking it tonight," Jet whispered.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were... a downer... is it?" Ken asked, letting a half smile come to his face at Jet's rough slang he was catching on to. It was growing on Ken, making him forget everything outside of their cage. "You're too young to just give up."

"I haven't given up, and I'm a whole lot older than you, if you count my time in deep freeze," Jet protested. He gave out a small laugh. Ken looked him over, baffled, but Jet explained, "It gets confusing sometimes, because I was a part of the first batch. What happened to me was in 1961."

"First batch?" Ken asked, trying to wrap his mind about this new information.

"Long story. You know what, I just feel like talking, right now, about other things. Sorry to be fickle." Jet then drew his knees to his chin. "I don't feel tired."

"I'm restless," Ken whispered back. He slid next to Jet's right side and drew his knees to his chin too. "Are you afraid being caught by the Black Ghost again?"

"Naw... I just wish Albert and I wouldn't have fought before this mess. I just want a chance to make peace with him. How about you? Anyone special? No... you don't seem the type to let anyone get in the way of you business. You probably squeeze the life out anyone who tries to get close. I do that, a lot," Jet said. Ken glared and was about to deny it, but he looked over to where Jun was talking to the blond French girl.

"I do ruin all of my personal relationships," Ken admitted. Jet flashed him a warm smile. Ken forced the wry smirk off his face and said, "We can get out of here. We'll keep our eyes open for the right opportunity."

"I knew you'd change the subject away from personal topics," Jet said.

"I'm not. It's just we need to be ready to escape. Besides, do you think this is the right time to talk about personal things?"

"Why not? What else you got going on? Besides, I have the start of an idea I want to chew on for a few minutes. So... it's your turn to pick a topic."

Ken was quiet for a minute, thinking he needed to insist they get some plans. He thought about some of the escapes he'd pulled off in the past and relaxed when he got some inspiration. He decided to switch to a bolder, more personal topic than what he was accustomed to and said, "Why don't you tell me why you and your boyfriend fought." He felt a sense of satisfaction at seeing Jet's brandy colored eyes pop wide open as he brushed back his reddish bangs.

"Maybe you are a little different than I thought," Jet said.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, one and all," a man in a white lab coat said. The man seemed older than the hills and was walking with a slight stoop. Aya watched as he walked down the line of cages. Four men dressed in surgical garb followed, along with Farfarello and three simple, black robots with guns.<p>

The old man stopped at Jet and Ken's cage. The two of them stood up from where they had been in deep conversation all night long, according to Aya's occasional observation. He and Joe Shimamura hadn't talked about much of anything except possible escape plans. Jet grabbed the bars and glared down at the stooped old man.

"Dr. Gamo. I was hoping a sick pervert like you would have kicked the bucket by now," Jet said. "Thought you had a weak ticker?"

"Artificial heart. We make them pretty good around here. Yours is going on fifty years according to my charts on you," Gamo said. "Good for at least another nine-hundred-fifty years."

"You people didn't even have the decency to leave me my heart! What did you do? Throw it in some landfill like garbage!" Jet screamed in a fury that chilled Aya. Aya looked over to Shimamura who's eyes grew wide with worry.

"He's been angry and very bitter... but this isn't like him," Joe whispered to Aya as they stood and walked to the front of their cage. Aya's instinct told him to be ready.

"I hate you all! You all need to rot and die!" Jet shouted, trembling while Ken slumped against the bars of their cage.

"There'll be none of your sass today, 002. You're being replaced by this young man. Get them out of there," Gamo ordered. The bars of the cage sank through the floor after one of the surgeons clicked a button on a remote control; Jet stumbled forward in an awkward sprawl against Dr. Gamo. The elderly scientist pushed the redheaded cyborg away in disgust.

Jet suddenly swirled Ken around and held one of Dr. Gamo's famous scalpel to his neck. Shock and panic filled the room as the five scientists froze, the three robots bared their pistols, and Farfarello laughed hysterically.

"You can't make it out of here," Gamo snapped over Farfarello's cackle.

"I'm not going to get out of here! I'm going to save him from what you've made me! He's better off dead!" Jet shouted.

Farfarello stopped laughing and gave Jet an amused look. Aya could see wild anger and pain as Jet moved slowly forward, but there was no fear in Ken's eyes. Washio was too relaxed. The robots moved back without firing as did the scientists and Farfarello.

"Have you gone mad, 002?" Gamo shouted with blazing anger crossing his wrinkled face. Aya saw Hidaka and Pyunma Dwmbee stand riveted at the bars, along with everyone else. Jet was slowly backing the group towards Aya's section of cages. He elbowed Joe who nodded; worry was gone from Joe's face.

"You drove me to this," Jet shouted back. "You made me into this! You made me crazy!"

"Listen! You put that down this instant! It'll be very hard to get someone else to replace you if you destroy that young man," Gamo said. Jet was still sliding forward another few inches. Washio's feet suddenly lashed out kicking Farfarello against Ken Hidaka and Pyunma's cage. Hidaka wrapped their chain around Farfarello's neck while Pyunma grabbed his legs. They forced Farfarello to the floor as he trashed.

Washio's next roundhouses swiftly sent a robot against Aya and Joe's cell and another at Ryu and Junior's cell. Both sets of men grabbed the robots by the heads; together they were able to twist the heads off. Shimamura and Junior grabbed the guns and aimed them at the surgeons. Ken and Jet quickly grabbed the last robot and twisted the head off before it fired randomly at the cages.

"No you don't," Pyunma shouted as he gave Farfarello several punches to the kidney. Hidaka struggled to keep the chain wrapped around the slender pale neck. The ex-soccer player put his foot in between Farfarello's shoulder blades and applied more pressure as Pyunma continued his angry assault.

"No... good! He can't feel pain," Ken explained as Pyunma grabbed Farfarello's legs tighter in an attempt to subdue him. Farfarello bucked forward with amazing burst of strength. Ken's head thudded against the bars. Farfarello then slugged Pyunma five swift times in his face and struggled free.

"Don't worry about him," Aya warned before Ryu shot him. "They'll know we're free now. His leader is clairvoyant. Let's get moving."

"Alright, sweetheart," Jet said, grabbing the scientist with the remote control. He yanked him by the elbow away from the trembling knot of the other three. Gamo looked on with a harsh glare.

"You ungrateful children! Think about what I'm offering you! We don't have to give you lobotomies. You can keep you minds, just give us your bodies and souls and you will have immortality! You will have power!" Gamo shouted. "Just stop these rebellious cyborgs!"

"Shove it, old man," Ken Hidaka sneered as Jet forced the scientist to lower the bars on his cage.

"Yeah, I only give my body to women. Wrinkled, old men just aren't my type," Youji said as he and Chang stepped out of their now opened cage.

"Thanks, mate. I was getting kind of lonely," GB said. He was only one who wasn't chained to another person. Aya figured they were going pair up Omi or Jinpei with that cyborg if they ever caught one of them. Ryu and Junior got out and tied up the scientists with bits of wire and cords they found from long dead machines around the area.

"That was pretty devious," Albert said as his and Condor Joe's cage opened. He walked over to Jet and gripped his upper arm. "Except, don't ever scare me like that again, Jet."

"Just thought I'd see if you were paying attention. Besides, Ken helped me cook it up," Jet said with a blush and a stammer. He didn't quite meet either Albert or Ken's eyes as he introduced them by saying, "Ken, Albert. Albert, Ken."

"We met at the police station," Eagle Ken remind the German cyborg.

"That's right," Jet said, blushing even more. "I guess I wasn't on my best behavior that day."

"When are you ever?" Albert said, giving a Jet a wry smirk. Jet freed Frances and Jun. Jun stalked over to Washio and soundly slapped him across the face.

"That was horrible! Couldn't you have come up with something a little more sane?" she demanded.

"Sorry. It seemed good at the time," Ken said, looking abashed. Jet turned to Aya and Joe's cage and freed them.

"Are these yours?" GB held up the Weiss Kreuz weapons towards Ryu.

"They're ours," Aya said, stalking over, which forced the Japanese cyborg to walk with him. Aya grabbed his katana and assessed the situation.

"We need to move, because Crawford will be down here soon with everyone else," Aya said.

"Get these off us," Jet ordered the scientist with the remote. "And do it right or my new buddy here will chop off your hand with his pig sticker." Aya unsheathed his katana to emphasize Jet's crude threat. The man fumbled and sweated as his trembling fingers punched in the codes for the collars. Two by two they were all free.

"Are you okay?" Aya asked Joe Shimamura. Joe disappeared and reappeared on Aya's other side before Aya's heart hit two beats.

"What ever Crawford used wore off. I don't think I'll be eating out for a while," Joe said.

"Good," Aya said. "Does anyone have a way to find out where the boys are?"

"Transmute," Joe Asakura said. After a flash of heat and light he was standing in his navy and kidney colored bird-style. He checked his bracelet.

"They're upstairs. Still a ways up," Joe said.

"Transmute," Eagle Ken said and then fixed Joe with a baffled look through his blue visor. "How did you know?"

"I loaned him my air gun. Same as I did with you and Jun about five years back," Joe said with a crafty smile appearing under his visor.

"And a tracking device you didn't tell him about," Jun said after changing into her bird-style.

"I didn't want you two running into any large, water-dwelling mecha without me," Joe

replied.

Eagle Ken and Jun the Swan laughed out loud at some personal joke Aya wasn't in on, nor did he care about. He was feeling more impatient at the thought of Omi and two other strange kids wandering around with Schwarz, Schreient, and Takatori on the loose. Not to mention all the other crazy villains running loose that he wasn't familiar with. Omi had a strong spirit and was incredibly smart and very capable, but it was steep odds Aya didn't like. He couldn't return Omi's unwavering loyalty to him with any more delay.

"Well, you know kids these day. You have to keep a close eye on them," Condor Joe said, "and let them think you're giving them some space."

"So we can find them with that bracelet? Can we communicate with him," Aya asked sheathing his katana as Ken tested out his bagknucks. He glanced over to make sure all the enemies were secured.

"Falcon," Joe tried. No response.

"Why hasn't Ivan tried to contact us?" Frances asked out loud. "He's telepathic."

"So is Schuldig. He could pinpoint the boys if he tried to contact you that way," Aya pointed out.

"We should move towards the boys and be as quiet as possible. We don't want to draw attention to them if they're trying to hack into the security system," Eagle Ken said. "Jinpei's probably being stealthy and that's why he didn't contact us yet."

"There is a staircase over there," Condor Joe said, pointing to a chained up doorway. "It got smashed up when I came down here the first time. We should be able to make it upwards."

Junior walked over to the chains and shredded them like paper. Youji went to the door and grabbed Junior's thick wrist before he smashed the door down.

"A wire that is connected to security, maybe an explosive," Youji said, pointing to the top.

"Explosive. It has the return. I can bypass it," Jun said, carefully tracing the wire.

"Good call," Youji said, nodding. "You disarm it and I can get this lock. It's probably triggered too."

"Just hurry," Aya snapped. Youji and Jun turned and gave him cross looks.

"Is he always that way?" Jun asked loud enough for Aya to hear as she removed a small multi-tool from her glove. "He does realize we are working with explosives?"

"Yeap. We've learned to live with his charming personality. You should see him around school girls with crushes on him. He's a real charmer with them," Youji said, getting out his skeleton key. Aya crossed his arms and glared as he thought about having Omi schedule the Weiss Kreuz playboy early Saturday mornings at the flower shop for the next two months.

* * *

><p>"You're slow, bird-boy," Omi teased Jinpei, who was sitting next to him in the control tower. A large bank of computer monitors were in front of them. Both of them were hacking. Jinpei was trying to find where their teammates were, along with any high ranking enemies; Omi was trying to disarm the security for the whole base.<p>

There were six dead Galactor on the floor. Ivan was at the door with his eyes closed as he concentrated on the hallway. Omi had ordered Ivan to not reach out telepathically to their teammates because Schuldig was a little too close.

"Want to bet, kitty-kitty? They're down there in the belly of the base," Jinpei said, pointing to his monitor. "Problem is that there are only two ways down."

"Great," Omi said. "Let's take those stairs. The security is lighter and the electricity is hit and miss in that section. There are explosives planted down there, but we can avoid the traps. Let's go."

"Damn! Joe is calling me, but I don't want to contact him back." Jinpei held up his wrist with the blinking bracelet. "They can neutralize the frequency on my bird-style which means they could also track us if I contacted him. On the good side, that means that they might be free," Jinpei said with excitement.

"We still need to be careful. Can you tell which way they're going?" Omi asked. Jinpei studied his bracelet and nodded.

"The staircase, just like we had planned. Come on," Jinpei said. The three of them crouched by the door and crept out slowly.

"What about the explosives?" Omi asked. "I'm worried..."

"Don't worry. Big Sis is an explosives and sabotage expert. She'll disarm everything," Jinpei whispered.

"Yeah... what am I thinking? Youji's pretty good at that sort of thing too," Omi whispered back.

To be continued.


	13. Chapter 13

Part Thirteen:

"Did you find it?" Takatori asked, as he puffed on his cigar. Crawford held up a small briefcase. They were in the passengers' portion of a private jet hired by Takatori.

"It was hiding in the cargo space. I'll get rid of it, and then we can be off," Crawford said.

"Excellent. Are all your men and Schreient ready to go?" Takatori asked.

"Yes," Crawford asked.

"Scar can handle the mess that's coming, serves him right. I think he's got a firm grip here. At the best case scenario, all the Weiss will be zombie cyborgs within two weeks, and I'm several million dollars richer. If, somehow, the Weiss escape, I'm still richer. The odds of them all making it out of this? Not good," Takatori said. Crawford nodded.

"I had a vision of Tsukiyono being shot before we entered the plane, but it wasn't like most. It's as if something around him was twisting the vision. I think there is something that will stop him from dying this time. I don't know what it is, but Schuldig is feeling a little antsy as well," Crawford said.

"That baby cyborg?"

"Could be. I don't understand how he's able to distort time and chance like that. It's as if he's getting more powerful. I'll get everything prepared for our departure," Crawford said, exiting the plane. He met his seven fellow assassins in the hanger bay. Schuldig grimaced and held his head, Nagi paled and leaned against Tot who held his nose with a dainty handkerchief covered in blood.

"What's wrong with you two," Crawford growled. He was about to chastise Schuldig and Nagi when it felt as if someone split his skull open. Blood trickled down from his own nose as he fell forward on all fours. He dimly heard Farfarello's giggling over the clanging, jangling noises that rang in his ears. "Ivan Gamo?" Crawford shouted.

_ :I am now Cyborg 001. I have decided to punish you so you can't be a threat to us.:_ the eerie, emotionless voice hammered in his head.

"But we were only doing our job!" Schuldig shouted out.

"Who are you talking to? What's going on?" Schön asked as her eyes darted around.

_:You think you're going to get away from me. You four in Schwarz think you are very powerful. I can play your games.:_ The emotionless voice washed over Crawford with a clammy wave. Crawford fought to stand on his feet again.

"Oh... yes! The pain," Farfarello shouted out in glee.

"Stop it, Farfarello!" Hell shouted back and flinched away with gritted teeth. Her eyes went wide and she whispered the name 'Masafumi' over and over. She suddenly screamed as her eyes grew out of focus. Crawford was relieved, for her sake, to see her pass out on the hanger bay floor.

"Neu! Get rid of this," Crawford gasped as he rose a little more and handed her the briefcase. She was the only one who appeared unaffected. She quickly disappeared down the hallway as Tot screamed. She and Nagi clung together as if their lives depended on each other.

Farfarello stopped giggling. Suddenly, his amber eye went wide and he screamed. His hands waved off some phantom only he could see. Crawford was shocked to see him sink to his knees and beg his family to go away with tears and fear.

Crawford was anxious to see Neu back. She halted before she rejoined the circle of assassins. She cried out, "Youji," and collapsed on the floor with huge brown eyes that weren't focused on anything. She trashed and started foaming at the mouth.

"This is madness! Leave us alone!" Schön cried out as she went to Neu's aid.

_ :No. At least all of them have families or loved ones I can hurt them with. You are so vain. All I can do is age you.:_ 001 thought. Schön looked down at her lovely, supple hands and screamed.

"It's just an illusion! He's just making you think he can make you old. Stop it!" Crawford shouted after he grabbed the hysterical Schön who coved her face.

_ :Now what should I do with you, Mr. Crawford? You're like __Schön__. You're a vain man. I'm going to crush your vanity.:_ 001 thought. Crawford looked up from where he sunk to his knees beside Schön and Neu. The teenage-appearing cyborg floating in front of him. He was transparent and had a blue glowing aura around him. Crawford met those mismatched eyes and felt a shiver. It was just a projected illusion of the cyborg. He had never seen anyone this powerful in all of Eszett.

"You have no emotions or pity?" Crawford asked, smiling. This cyborg could be Schwarz's perfect tool, if it where true. Crawford could use him to destroy the world order as it existed.

_ :My father turned me into a machine when I was six months old. I can no longer feel pity, pain, or fear in the same way you do, Mr. Crawford. I am learning to be more humane. For that reason I have only implanted these nightmares in their heads for the next two weeks. In the meanwhile, you'll need to care for them. Maybe you'll learn about pity.: _Cyborg001 thought.

"You're teaching me some sort of lesson you think?" Crawford asked.

_:Yes. I want you to feel the pain of losing the people you think of as family. You don't know it yet, but you care for them. Just as I care for the other cyborgs. This is justice. They will suffer even worse over the next two weeks than they are now, but they'll live.:_ Cyborg 001 thought and disappeared.

Crawford shivered in the chilly hanger bay as he thought, _:I will have you in Schwarz!:_

* * *

><p>"Ivan, what's wrong?" Omi asked as the cyborg fell against a handrail in the dim stairwell.<p>

"I just got rid... of the Takatori threat," Ivan said.

"What? How?" Jinpei asked, helping Ivan sit. Omi took a white cloth from his black jacket pocket. He pressed it to Ivan's nose and made Ivan tilt his head forward.

"I don't want... to tell you. You'll both... think rather ill... of me," Ivan said.

"What happened? You're obviously hurt. What did you do to them?" Omi insisted.

"Please don't make me say. I was very cruel to them because they were very cruel to me," Ivan pleaded with no stutter.

"Okay, that does make things better for us. Please, Ivan, I mean it when I say don't use your powers. If you get sick or hurt we can't carry you out. We may need you to do something to rescue them, so please be judicious," Omi said.

"Sorry. I feel... these flares of emotion like anger and still don't know... how to control them. I'm still learning," Ivan said.

"I know, but we have to move on. Come on," Jinpei said. He and Omi helped Ivan up with a struggle and continued down the stairs.

* * *

><p>"There's one," Frances said to Youji and Jun. They knelt down and observed the small infrared sensor low to the ground. Frances had naturally taken point and used her enhanced senses to point out all the traps in the wide, dark staircase.<p>

"Not worth worrying about," Youji said.

"But that is," Frances said, pointing further up the blackened staircase.

"What do you see?" Youji asked.

"A deep pit in the floor. It's about twenty foot across," she said. Youji couldn't get used to how the French woman could pick up every detail around, even in the pitch black.

"Are you physic too?" he asked.

"No, I leave that to Ivan. Like I told you, I have heightened senses that are pretty advanced," Frances said. "007! Can you get us across that pit?"

"Anything for such a lovely lady," the British cyborg said.

"How's he going to get us across?" Youji asked.

"You'll see," Frances said. The escapees made their way to the edge of the pit.

"Alright! Anyone who can make it across without me better do so," GB said, flinging his hand to the other side. "I can only do so much."

"Come on team," Eagle Ken said before unfurling his snowy-white glide wings. The four Science Ninja Team members took running leaps and darted over the wide hole in the floor. They all landed on the other side. Joe Shimamura picked up Frances in his arms; they disappeared and reappeared on the other side.

"Wow. How did he do that?" Youji asked Aya.

"He ran along the wall at high speed," Aya said, waving the hilt of his katana at the right wall that had crumbling cinder blocks in the aftermath.

"Well. I think I can manage," Youji said. He flung a wire to the darkened ceiling and tested his weight. He swung to the other side and released the wire.

"You too, 002!" GB shouted, seeing the redheaded cyborg lean against the wall.

"Awww... you won't help me get across, baldy," Jet teased, rubbing GB's head.

"Get across on your own, 002," GB shouted, waving his fists in the air. Jet laughed, disappeared, and reappeared, leaning on Eagle Ken's shoulder. Ken gasped and jerked away. Jet only laughed harder.

"Did I mention I have an acceleration device too? Not as good as Joe's, but it's enough to have some fun every now and again," Jet said to Ken. The Science Ninja Team leader gave an annoyed huff towards the redheaded cyborg.

"Okay," GB said. The cyborg stripped off his cloths and started to shift and stretch. His body changed and morphed into a simple beam across the pit.

"Holy..." Ken Hidaka said. "Now that's a neat trick."

"Yeah. He's great at parties," Chang said with ill hidden sarcasm after he picked up GB's clothing. The rest of them made their way across GB's back only hearing an occasional grunt from the British cyborg. When they were all across, GB reshaped himself as normal and quickly threw on his clothing.

"They're on the move again," Condor Joe said, checking his bracelet. They all followed behind Frances, Youji, and Jun.

* * *

><p>"They've escaped?" Scar asked.<p>

"Yes, and Takatori and his people have left. The plane didn't explode either," one of his soldiers reported.

"This is ridiculous," Count Egobossler raged.

"Don't worry about Takatori. We'll settle with him later. We need to get the cyborgs under control," Scar said. He turned to Count Egobossler and said, "Make sure they don't leave!"

"The tunnel they're in is blocked with fifty feet of industrial steel and concert. I'll send Donald Wade in with a team to subdue those boys," Count Egobossler said.

"Good," Scar said. "We need those boys as well."

* * *

><p>"Oh no," Jinpei shouted, pounding his fist against the wall of scrap metal and concrete in front of them.<p>

_ :Frances! You're on the other side.:_ Ivan's thought rang out in Omi's head.

"That's great, but they are fifty feet away from us," Jinpei said, checking his bracelet. He held the bracelet up to mouth. "Condor, can you hear me?"

"Good to hear from you. Are you boys okay?" Joe's voice came over Jinpei's bracelet.

"We're all here and fine. How about all of you?" Jinpei asked.

"All of us are a doing fine, but we'll have to back track and take the trapped elevator shaft if we can't get through this," Joe replied. "Wait, Falcon. Stay put... turns out a cyborg can handle this. One of the cyborgs can get us out of here."

_:006 can get thought using his tunneling abilities,:_ Ivan finished. _:It should take him twelve minutes to make it through. He'll have to go slowly or he could kill the others. Stand back. It's about to get very hot.:_

* * *

><p>"Stand back," Chang warned. The others all crouched by the wall. A large, hot plume of fire came from his mouth and scorched the scrap metal in the way. It melted away gradually and they were able to make progress thought the now sweltering tunnel.<p>

* * *

><p>Jinpei could see the red glowing pinpoint grow slowly to plate size. He squeezed his hands in fists harder and smiled at Omi who returned it.<p>

"Come on, Chang!" Jinpei shouted.

_ :There are people coming.:_ Ivan warned. Jinpei and Omi got up. Omi handed Jinpei Joe's air gun and brought his crossbow to his shoulder.

"Give up, Jinpei," Donald Wade's voice called out. From the dark. "I have some friends here who want to play."

"I don't have time to mess with you, Don," Jinpei said.

"Suit yourself," Donald Wade called out. A volley of gunfire forced Omi, Jinpei, and Ivan to dive to the ground. They returned fire into the dark as the glowing hole got wider.

A bluish force field appeared and pushed the bullets back. Omi and Jinpei stopped firing and looked over to Ivan who held out his left hand as his right eye gleamed in the dim light. Artificial blood trickled from his ears as well as his nose as he drove the enemy back slightly. Ivan's face grimaced as more gunfire assaulted his telekinetic shield.

_ :Hurry, 006! I'm getting tired.:_ Ivan thought out loud.

"We're here!" the Chinese cyborg shouted. The escapees jumped through the ember edged hole and brought their weapons out.

"Pretty little trick, 001," Donald shouted, stepping from the shadows with several green clad Galactor goons. I have hundreds of men behind me. You'll all have to back track where some more men are waiting down at the holding cells. What's your pleasure?"

_ :I have another option. Omi... Jinpei... I'm sorry... please forgive me, but I know this is the only way all of us can come out unhurt. Goodbye.:_ Ivan thought. Darkness swirled around the three teams; they disappeared in a flash.

"Where did they go?" Donald shouted with bulging eyes as he tossed his gun to the ground in anger.

* * *

><p>"Ivan!" Frances shouted after they reappeared in the hanger bay. He was being supported by Omi and Jinpei. They sunk to the floor and laid Ivan in between them. She cradled his head while everyone else took up defensive positions. His face was bloody and his eyes were wide with a dull look.<p>

"Is he dead?" Omi asked in a whisper as his eyes grew moist.

"I don't know," Jinpei said hoarsely. "He's so cold and there's no pulse."

"What just happened?" Ryu asked to Great Britain.

"The lad has limited ability to teleport people. He must of put us close to the outside, but he's never been sick like that before," GB said as the hanger bay's alarms started sounding.

"We have to get out of here," Aya said. He shoved GB down to avoid a volley of bullets. He unsheathed his katana and lunged at five Galactor goons. Ken leaped up in the air and slashed out with his bagknucks. Jet shot a Galactor goon about to jump the ex-soccer player. Ken swirled around and shook his head.

"That makes up for the van," he said, running towards the hanger bay door. Jet ran shoulder to shoulder with Hidaka while he snickered.

"I'll still see you in court," Jet teased as they faced down goons. A silvery gleam at the hanger door caught everyone's attention.

"It's the _Dolphin_!" Jet shouted. "Who's piloting... awh... never mind!"

Junior came over to Ivan and easily scooped up the limp cyborg. Omi and Jinpei followed the huge America Indian while supporting a sobbing Frances in between them. They ran for the _Dolphin_ as did the other escapees. They all jumped aboard the ship that roared with a warm, running engine.

"Go! Go! Go!" Eagle shouted being the last one on. Pyunma jumped in the cockpit and quickly launched them into the Himalayan airspace.

"What about Ivan?" Jinpei shouted. Frances calmed herself and looked into his eyes.

"We'll have to get him back to back to Dr. Gilmore. Let's just pray his brain has gone into its sleep cycle. I just don't know. He's never been like this before," Frances said. "Just hurry home."

To be continued.


	14. Chapter 14

Part Fourteen:

"Thanks, Dr. Nambu, for your assistance," Dr. Gilmore said.

"It means a lot to Jinpei," Dr. Nambu replied as they stepped out of Dr. Gilmore's lab below the townhouse. They walked upstairs to the formal dining room where everyone paced, sat, or chatted. None had even taken a moment to change or clean up after their return from the Himalayas. They all turned with held breath and wide eyes.

Jinpei and Omi scrambled up to the doctors with hopeful expressions. Frances clung to Joe and shivered.

"He's gone into his sleep cycle. We think it will last only three days, which is a benefit of his older, mostly mechanical body. It can actually sustain the stress a lot better. In the mean time, we're going to improve the housing for his brain and make some adjustments. We are afraid that now that his body doesn't limit him, his brain is trying to grow new talents faster than 001... Ivan... can handle. There is a new portion of his brain that seems to be going active," Dr. Gilmore said as the two teens sighed and slumped foreword with large grins.

"What will this part of his brain do once it's active?" Frances asked, walking over to Jinpei and Omi. She put her hands on their shoulders.

"We just don't know yet, but we'll have to allow for Ivan's growth and improvements in our design," Dr. Kozumi said.

"Once we can get the ISO building back, I'll be happy to lend you anything you need," Dr. Nambu offered.

"Don't worry. 004, 007, and I will go have a conversation with 0012 again," Joe said, standing and waving to the two other cyborgs to follow.

"Ah... that lovely lady won't like being evicted again," GB said, following Joe and Albert into the night.

Albert shot a look over his shoulder at Jet who had pointedly ignored him this entire time. Instead, Jet suckered both Kens into endless rounds of cards and stories about the streets of New York. Albert slammed the front door closed in aggravation after he left the warm house; Jet was obviously still furious over Albert keeping his self-detonation device and calling him Hilda during their love making. Tomorrow morning he would take time to talk things out. Besides, Albert was still mulling over the uncomfortable doubts Schuldig dredged up.

* * *

><p>"Oh... 0012... It's us again," GB called out sweetly on the front steps of the ISO building. The woman's image appeared before them.<p>

"You three! I thought you would be destroyed by now," she said with a frown.

"Listen. You need to leave this building. If not we're going to come in and force you out again," Albert said.

"This is my body. I will not give it up," she said, frowning at the three cyborgs.

"Fine. We'll do it your way, _Hausfrau_," Albert said, leveling his machine gun hand at the glass front doors. He shot away the doors. The image screamed and writhed in pain.

"No," she screamed as they walked into the ISO building's lobby.

"Come out, come out, Madam Zero-Zero-Twelve," Great Britain called out sweetly.

"Accelerate!" Joe shouted. He grabbed Albert and GB around their waists and ran super speed as the floor liquefied. They dove into a stairwell in a jumble of artificial limbs.

"Well, this is going to be as much fun as the last time," GB groused as they stood.

"Where too?" Albert asked.

"They needed to plug her into a central electronic hub," Joe said.

"Probably downstairs," Albert said, putting in one of his earplugs.

"Let's go," Joe said. He didn't bother with earplugs like the other two. His acceleration devise protected him from her sonic attacks. That and someone needed to maintain hearing.

* * *

><p>The three cyborgs crept down the long darkened hallway towards the door that was propped open. Joe pointed to the door. Albert and GB nodded. It had been a challenge to get to this point. The same types of traps occurred: being sucked into vents, shifting hallways, and collapsing walls. This time the three were prepared for the cunning, cyborg woman.<p>

The three of them walked into the telecommunications room with drawn guns. They drew up short when they saw Cyborg 0012 physically sitting at her chessboard beside her empty metal casket. The chessboard had three white pieces left: a knight, a bishop, and a rook. They had one black piece, the queen, cornered. She looked up at them and gave them a wan expression. She rose as GB and Albert removed their earplugs.

"It would seem I'm obsolete. You've come to destroy me," she said.

"Madam! You can't live outside your casket. Your fleshy tissue is too old because you were preserved from the 1890s! You'll start decaying without the same artificial blood that we have," GB shouted.

"Yes, I have already started," she said, pushing up her lacy purple sleeve. A heavy stench of rotting flesh filled the moldy room; her arm was nothing more than a greenish-purplish, sticky rot.

"Come with us! There is still time! Dr. Gilmore can build you a regular machine body and you can live with us. Please, Madam, you are one of us," GB said.

"He is right. There is still time to save you," Joe said. "Please go back into your casket. You have our word that we'll save you."

"Always so quick to forgive?" she asked with an edge as she lowered her sleeve and turned her back on them. "Make it quick this time. And make it permanent this time. All I ask is that you bury this fleshy body with my husband and destroy that casket. I'm not one of you. I was never meant to be one of you. I am only programed as a trap. It's all I know. It's all I'm good for. I know nothing but long, cold winter nights. I want to die and wake up in the warm sunlight."

"If it is what you wish, Madam," Joe said. "We won't force you to live like this. In so many ways its more horrible than anything we deal with. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"Wait," she said. She turned and walked over to Albert. She took both of his hands in hers. Her pure black eyes met his pure blue eyes. "Come with me, Albert. You can be with your wife once again. She was your one true love just as my husband was my one true love. We can travel together in death and be with our spouses and find happiness outside of these twisted bodies. Come die with me. It doesn't have to painful. We'll fall asleep; I can fill this room with gas."

"I'm sorry, Manma. There's someone I'm with now. If you would have made the offer when we first met, I would have come with you. As it is, I must live for now... for his sake... to see what I can build with him," Albert said, pushing a lock of mossy green hair off of 0012's forehead. She nodded. Albert pressed his lips to her forehead and lifted her up into his arms. She wrapped her rotting arms around his neck as he walked her back to the hallway.

Joe and GB walked behind them, stunned at the exchange. They shot each other wide eyed looks when they reached the outside just after Albert and Manma. He stood in front of the dark ISO building, holding the partially rotting cyborg tightly.

"I hate the city. You can't see the stars as well. Their beauty used to have the power to move me. Thank you, 004, 007, and 009 for being so humane. Your humanity moves me. Thank you, 004, for reminding me about love. You choosing to stay rather than death proves we still live in our mechanical hearts. Treat your new love well," she bid in a raspy voice.

She slowly fell limp in Albert's arm. He placed her desicated body on the lawn. He looked over to where GB and Joe were both swiping tear stained faces. Albert let his own tears flow as he sunk to his knees by her body. He cried for both Manma and for Hilde, but also for the hurt he'd given to Jet lately.

Her body was nothing more than a mechanical frame and a few artificial parts within an hour. They collected what was left of 0012 after Albert blasted the metal casket to smithereens, unleashing his fury at the Black Ghost and their cruelty.

* * *

><p>"Well, all of those plans went to waste. Now what?" Donald Wade asked as Count Egobossler and he surveyed the damage of the room they had held their captives in.<p>

"Scar and his men have all left. Who knows where they are now. We need to abandon this base once again and make sure it can't be used," Count Egobossler said. "I want to go home to Hontworl and work from there. For now."

"Yes, highness," Donald said. His sharp eye caught sight of gleaming white beside an electronic timer stuck on two seconds. He plucked up the feather shuriken and smiled.

"What's that, Wade?" Egobossler asked as they walked back to the elevator.

"Just a little something for my curio cabinet, highness," Donald said deeply inhaling the odor of gunpowder off the feather. There would be another day to take his revenge on Joe and Ken, he'd see to that.

* * *

><p>"Ahhh... stop it, mama! Please let me out of the dark!" Nagi screamed as he tried to trash in his straitjacket. "I can't help it. I promise I didn't make it move!"<p>

"Hush, Nagi," Crawford said softly as he set aside the bowl of oatmeal he was feeding Schön from. Three of the men of Schwarz were all in straitjackets and strapped to beds along the right side of a small log cabin; the four women of Schreient were all in straitjackets along the left side of the log cabin. This was under Eszett orders; make Schwarz whole again. Crawford brought Schreient in hopes of gaining their loyalty away from Masafumi. It would be pleasurable to turn the women against their master, and then he could use them to distract Weiss.

Crawford had rented the cabin and brought them here with some Eszett agents' help, however, he had to dismiss them. Crawford was forced to care for the seven other assassins alone because he realized Ivan had also implanted a hysterical terror of all other people within all of his victims.

Crawford was too exhausted to be angry or do much of anything except provided for each of the antagonized assassins.

He sat on the side of the bed with Nagi; he cried and begged his mother not to tie him up any more. Crawford knew if he let Nagi go, the boy would only try to inflict harm on himself, just like the others. All they did is wail, beg, and sob at various intervals during the last week. He brushed back Nagi's bangs and put a cool cloth on the teen's burning forehead.

One thing Crawford knew was that he was going to make sure Ivan would pay for all the trouble he had caused. He'd make sure to persuade or force Ivan into serving Schwarz's interest in the future. First he had to get all of Schwarz back in working order. Then they would find that errant Russian cyborg.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Aya! Stop being such a stick in the mud. This is important to him, and he asks so little of you. Don't upset Omi," Ken threatened as he pushed Aya up the stairs towards their loft. "Just get cleaned and dressed. We can finish cleaning this mess up tomorrow!"<p>

"Yeah. Don't make us string you up for hurting Omi's feelings! We may as well be neighborly. Persia and Manx ordered you to be friendly to Omi's new friends," Youji reminded him with a gloating tone. Aya shot both of them a dirty look and flung his hand around the shop that was almost repaired from the giant flower attack.

"It'll wait," Youji and Ken both shouted, flinging brooms at Aya. The redheaded assassin fled upstairs.

He quickly got cleaned, dressed in a plain orange sweater and jeans, and ran back down to the shop. Youji had created a twenty-four pink rose bouquet with baby's breath. Ken just shook his head and laughed as he put on his brown leather coat.

"You see, I'm doing my neighborly duty by taking this to lovely Jun."

Aya's eyes went over to where Omi sat on one of the counters, laughing at Youji's plans to ask Jun out at tonight's party at the Snack J. She'd been accepting more of Youji's calls after they got back from Tibet, so chances looked good for the Weiss playboy.

Omi looked over to Aya and gave him a bright smile. "I'm glad you're coming. I know parties aren't your thing, but..."

"It's okay," Aya said sharply, cutting off Omi. He got his keys out of his pocket. "Come on. We don't want to be late."

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling, Ivan?" Frances asked, as Junior helped him into the rented van.<p>

"Great. I feel so refreshed," Ivan said, no more trace of a stutter. "A party... was a great idea."

"Chang and I helped Jun all this afternoon, the place looks nice," Frances said as she sat beside him.

"I'm glad you have her for a friend now?" Ivan asked. She nodded with a warm smile.

"It's nice to have another woman who understands," she said as the rest of the cyborgs got in the van.

"I know," Ivan said with a small smile. He looked behind him where Albert and Jet sat side-by-side, but were pointedly ignored each other.

_:Frances? They're angry with one another again?:_ Ivan thought only to Frances.

_ :They've been rather cool for the last week, some same old arguments. Now, also, they're both being so jealous, but they are trying to work it out.:_ Frances explained, getting a slight blush. She patted Ivan's hand and smiled.

"You're going the wrong way, 005!" GB shouted, waving a map around wildly. Ivan and Frances giggled as the American Indian cyborg took a wide left turn, ignoring GB.

* * *

><p>"They're supposed to be here now," Jinpei griped, elbowing Ken who sat at the bar. Ken gave him a smirk and took another swallow of whiskey. "Hey, you okay? You look nervous and you're drinking whiskey? That's not like you."<p>

"I have something on my mind. Hey, there is something important I do need to tell you. I'll take you for a pizza tomorrow. Just us, so we have a nice long talk. Oh... and before they get here I want to give you something," Ken said. He removed a key from his windbreaker and handed it to Jinpei. "This is the key to my airstrip. This weekend we'll move you out there, if you want."

"I sure do! Thanks, Big Brother Ken, I appreciate it, but what about Jun?" he asked. "I really need to ask her."

"I'm right here," Jun said softly. Jinpei swirled around to where she had come from the kitchen She carried a cake. Jinpei stood up and looked at her.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings. I'm so grateful to you, but..."

"I understand, Jinpei. You have my blessings with no hard feelings," Jun said, with a smile tinged with tears. She set down the cake and they hugged one another tightly. "You still have to work here!"

"Yes, ma'am," Jinpei said with relish. "I'll have to call Julie and let her know things are working out. Maybe, I can take a couple of days and visit her?"

"Jet-setting while we do the work? Ken and Jun roped us all into packing and moving you," Joe said before taking a swallow of beer.

"Hey, Joe! How is that you knew where I was at the base," Jinpei started off.

Joe reached over and grabbed back his air gun that was tucked in the back of Jinpei's waistband. He slid open a small compartment on the butt of the gun and flipped the small red tracking beacon out.

Jinpei got a chagrined expression and shook his head. "That's was a dirty trick, Big Brother Joe. I should have remembered that one. Now I'm really embarrassed."

"You don't need it any more since you have your bird-style back, and you're going to be living at the airstrip. Maybe next time, I'll leave it to you," Joe said with a lopsided smirk.

"That's not funny, Joe! Besides, Omi used it more, and better, than I did," Jinpei admitted.

Joe tucked his air gun away in the lining of his jacket as the Weiss Kreuz assassins knocked on the Snack J's front door. Ryu got up and warmly greeted the four party guests.

"Omi!" Jinpei shouted. "I'll have a new address pretty soon. Cool hun?"

"Cool," Omi replied. The groups started mixing. Jinpei put on some techno music as the Double Zero Cyborgs made their appearance.

After an hour of mixing Jun called everyone over to a large banquet table. Youji flourished the over sized bouquet; she received it demurely. They all sat down and looked at Jun expectantly.

"Well, we just wanted to say how proud we are of Jinpei and how glad we are that he has such good friends. We hope that all of you will continue to consider us allies. To new friends," Jun said, hoisting her wine glass. Jinpei wanted to melt under the table as everyone toasted.

"We're so proud of Ivan too. He's always been so brave. We're so grateful he made sacrifices on our behalf and for his friends," Frances said. Ivan smiled, looking as embarrassed at Jinpei felt.

"I guess its my turn to say something nice about Omi. Let's see..." Youji said, throwing any arm around the youngest assassin's shoulder. Omi glared up at Youji. "When he's not scheduling us to work at the crack of dawn, he can be a pretty decent guy! But seriously... you're a good friend to us, Omi." Everyone laughed as Omi slumped down in his chair. "To our lovely hostess and one of the smartest explosives experts I've had the privilege of meeting," Youji added. Jun took the flowers and set them at the center of the table.

"Well lets eat!" GB shouted, hoisting his silverware. "I can tell Chang's Majic Pan catering anywhere!"

* * *

><p>The party lasted for four hours before it broke up. By that time Youji was slow dancing with Jun to<em> Sentimental Reasons<em>. Joe Shimamura and Frances were slow dancing as well. Omi, Jinpei, and Ivan were huddled around a game console in a corner by the bar. At the other end of the bar Aya, Condor Joe, and Eagle Ken sat while they nursed beers; they did exchange some light conversation.

Ken Hidaka was telling his version of the car wreck to Junior, Chang, and Great Britain at the banquet table. All three nodded their heads in sympathy at the tale of Jet's horrible driving. Pyunma, Albert, and Ryu all sat around a table playing poker while they sipped on rye whiskey. Jet sat on the armrest beside Albert. He'd long since grown bored with cards. Occasionally, he would look over to Ken Washio with curiosity, and then to Ken Hidaka in annoyance.

Jet excused himself and walked through the kitchen and to the back door. He walked out into the alleyway at the back of the Snack J and leaned against the brick wall. It was blissfully dark and cool, only the occasional flash of a passing headlight offered illumination.

He lit a cigarette and closed his eyes, trying so hard to get his boiling emotions under control. His anger with Albert was still running hot. Albert had firmly told Jet that morning he refused to get rid of the self-detonation device. He told Jet he'd have to accept it, and Jet felt backed into a corner.

"Jet," a voice called from behind him. He gasped and swirled around.

"You really are quiet. Must be all that ninja training," Jet said, smiling as Ken Washio walked up to him. He could barely make out Ken's facial features in the dark.

"You could say that. We haven't spoken in the week since we got back. I was wondering if you're doing okay?" Ken asked.

"Fine. You know... not really. Things haven't been going as well as they could. Albert refused to do something, and I don't know that I can accept his decision," Jet said, running his thumbnail along the cracks in the bricks. He didn't want to meet Ken's eyes. Part of him was perturbed at the Science Ninja Team leader for following him. Another part, was happy to have a chance to talk to Ken again.

"If you need to talk to someone, I know a good coffee shop we could go to," Ken offered.

"I don't think that would be a good idea. People may get the wrong idea... you know," Jet said, feeling a stab of guilt as he entertained the thought.

"The phone number for my airstrip is in the book. Eagle One Air. Give me a call if you ever want that cup of coffee," Ken said, stepping closer. Jet let Ken take hold of his upper arms and pull him into an intense, passionate kiss. Jet returned it with matching heat at first and then gently pulled back.

"Please back off. Me and Albert... we're just too rocky now. I'm not breaking up with him just now, and I ain't the type to run around," Jet confessed.

"I could really fall for you, but the decision is yours. You know where I'm at, if you decide to leave Albert," Ken said, letting Jet's arms go. Jet started trembling as Ken walked off to the parking lot at the end of the alleyway of the Snack J.

* * *

><p>"Before we leave, I'd like to invite you to our cabin. How about next weekend?" Youji asked, giving Jun a soft, lazy smile. "So what do you say?"<p>

"That's a little too fast for my taste. Omi warned me about you," Jun said.

"Darn that Omi," Youji said. "Okay, than how about I take you to dinner at Bella Notre and get us tickets to that new musical all the women are raving about?" Youji asked. He flashed her a wicked grin. "I promise I'll have you to bed at a decent hour."

"You really are a fast operator. Omi did say you really are a gentleman underneath it all and rather intelligent and compassionate. I'll give you a chance, but I'm not a fast mover like most girls you probably pick," Jun warned.

"That's okay. It's been a couple years since I've met a girl as interesting as you. I'm willing to go a little slower and see where things could go," Youji said.

"Okay, but no shop-talk. No talk about missions or assassination. My last boyfriend was in our line of work and all he would do is talk about it," Jun said.

"Done. There's a lot of other things I'd prefer talking about with you," Youji said. "I'll call you tomorrow and let you know details."

"Good night, Youji," Jun said as he waved and followed the other Weiss Kreuz assassins out of the bar.

* * *

><p>"Well... well... well... if it isn't the noodle brain back from being sick," Aki called out as Ivan, Jinpei, and Omi stepped into the classroom.<p>

Jinpei and Omi walked by the obnoxious bully without a glance. Ivan paused and looked Hitoshi in the eye as Jinpei and Omi sat down and talked with each other at their desks. Ivan's blue eye glowed as he implanted a hypnotic suggestion in the bully's head.

When the teacher came in, Hitoshi jumped up on his desk, dropped his trousers, and started singing loud and off key. After the teacher yanked him out of the room Ivan sat in between his friends and smiled.

_ :I like to handle bullies in my own way.:_ Ivan thought to Jinpei and Omi as the rest of the classroom exploded into chaos.

"I think you definitely have style," Jinpei whispered with a wolf-like smile. Omi smiled warmly and snickered.

"By the way, we're still working on _Richard III_.," Omi said.

_:Great. We should go to my house to study in case we need GB's help. By the way, can you teach me how to take note so I look normal?:_ Ivan thought over to Omi.

End Triple Cross, for now.


End file.
